The Impossible Boy
by Peter Smith
Summary: The next in my series of point-of-view stories sees a teenage boy named Tim take the stage. Visiting his local doctor one morning, Tim begins to tell about a wild adventure he recently had with the Power Rangers ... so begins the tale of the planet-spanning quest of the Impossible Boy. Reviews and feedback welcomed! :)
1. Chapter 1

_Author's notes -_ _Hey everybody! *waves* Welcome to_ The Impossible Boy _. This is the longest Power Rangers story I've ever written, 16 chapters and 110 pages (which is why I haven't updated any stories in the last year. This one took a long time!). This is another point-of-view story in my_ Junior Rangers _series. In my series, the original MMPR team stuck around, and they're joined by six younger Rangers. In this story, the Rangers have all been Rangers for four years. So the MMPR kids are just starting their second year at college, still dealing with Rita and Zedd, and still using the Thunder zords. I **love** the Thunder zords, so I try to write them as often as I can :). _

_If that feels like a bit too much information, don't worry. The narrator of this story? He doesn't know any of this either. Trust me, it'll make sense when you read a couple of chapters :)._

 _A few years ago, I had some ideas for an original series of superhero novels. That never worked out, but I had all these ideas for really cool villains that I never used, villains like the Troll King, the Insectoid, the Dark Wizard, Doctor Quantum, the Dragon Lord, Raven, General Skull, or underwater villains like Stingray or Captain Goldclaw or Sharkman. So I decided that for the rest of my point-of-view stories, I'm gonna use more and more of these original villains, because I really like them. I use a couple of them in this story._

 _Finally, before we start? I need to confess something. Last year, I really didn't enjoy_ Megaforce/Super Megaforce _at all. I was really unhappy with how that season turned out. But while I was heavily criticising the show, I started to really dislike who I was turning into. So I had this great idea for another point-of-view story, but I needed to write something that was an affirmation. Or, more to the point, a_ re _affirmation. I sat down and said to myself, forget_ Megaforce _. Forget all those bad feelings. Forget everything else, and ask two simple questions._ Who are the Power Rangers, and what are they about? _And that's what drove me to write_ The Impossible Boy _, to answer those two questions_ _. Ultimately? This story became an unabashed love letter to the Power Rangers, to the characters we all love, and I make no apologies for that._

 _The short of it is, I hope you enjoy this tale as much as I enjoyed writing it :). Now, onto the story!_

* * *

 **Chapter One**

There's something reassuring about the waiting rooms in doctor's surgeries. There's always a beat-up old television in the corner, playing some inoffensive celebrity gossip show with the volume turned way down, and a stack of worn magazines that were published at least a decade before you were born. Bonus points if they're Readers Digest.

Gazing around the room, I chuckled at the thought that these kinds of places probably looked the same from one side of the galaxy to the other.

And I've seen a lot more of that galaxy than you'd think.

Hey. My name is Tim Sanderson. I'm sixteen, which means I'm just about to start grade twelve at school. I live in a tiny coastal village on the Australian eastern seaboard. It's a sleepy little place, and even saying that much is overselling it. In fact, it was so uneventful that morning that the local doctor's waiting room was empty except for the receptionist filing some paperwork behind the counter, and my parents and I. Sitting next to me, my mother was tapping her foot nervously on the tiles and holding my hand so tightly that I was in danger of actually needing to see a qualified medical professional. I got my dark, curly hair and green eyes from my mother, but I sometimes wish I'd gotten her strength as well. She'd always been able to put on a brave face no matter what. I don't know how she did it.

"It's gonna be okay," I said softly. "You don't have to worry."

Mum turned to me with surprise, broken out of her thoughts. She glanced to my hand, smiled and let go. "Oh, I know," she replied. "You can't blame us for being a little nervous, though, not after everything that happened."

"I know, I don't," I said quickly. "That's why I'm here, right? One final check-up to make sure everything's okay."

"Still, maybe we should go in there with you," said Dad, and I turned to see him sitting on the other side, rocking back and forth. "Do you want us to go in with you? I think we should go in with you."

"How many mugs of coffee have you had this morning Steve?" Mum asked.

"Just four," Dad replied. "Why?"

"No reason," Mum said, and shot me a look.

I laughed. "I appreciate your concern," I said, "but I'll be fine, I promise. See that wall?" I pointed to the wall opposite, where a poster warning us about the danger of measles was facing us beside a small painting of a sunflower. "I will literally be on the other side of that wall, not four metres away. If something happens, you'll know about it."

Dad bit his lip, while Mum didn't seem convinced. "But that's such a long way away," she said.

The door opened and the doctor poked her head into the waiting room. My face fell. I'd been expecting to see Doctor Randall, my family's physician ever since I'd been a kid. I liked Doctor Randall. She always let me have some of the jelly beans she kept hidden in her desk, even though I'd long since passed the age where bribery still worked. But instead, the young woman before us was a doctor I'd never seen before. She was tall and graceful, with long silken black hair tied behind her head. I couldn't see a name badge pinned to her lab coat, but I caught the hint of a yellow dress with a cheerful floral print.

"Mr Sanderson?" she asked, and her gaze fell onto me. "Come on through."

I stood up and turned to my parents. "I won't be long," I said. "I'll be right inside," and I leaned forward to give Mum a light kiss on the cheek.

That seemed to settle their nerves. "We'll be here if you need us," Dad said.

"Thanks," I said. "I know you will." I followed the doctor into the building's only consulting room and shut the door behind me.

The doctor sat down at her desk and offered me the chair facing her. "I didn't mean to tear you away from your family," she said.

"Yeah, they've been super-protective lately," I said, and sat down. "Dad hasn't let me out of his sight in, like, a week. My sister Sally had to practically bribe them just so she could go and hang out with some friends this morning."

"That's understandable, given everything in my notes."

"About that," I began. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but what happened to my usual doctor? I thought I was seeing Doctor Randall today."

"Sorry, no, Doctor Randall was unexpectedly called out of town," the doctor replied. "I'm covering for all of her patients today, which at the moment only seems to be you."

I nodded, and the words slipped out before I could stop them. "You seem awfully young to be a doctor," I said, then blushed redly.

But the young woman behind the desk smiled. "They'll let anyone into medical school these days," she said. For the first time, I noticed the kindness in her face. I've always had a knack for reading people, and I couldn't help the feeling that she was someone I could trust, even if I didn't understand why.

"So Doctor Randall left you notes about my visit today?" I asked.

"Yes, this is a simple follow-up," the young woman replied. "With everything you went through last week, this is just a final check to make sure that you're okay."

I sat still as the doctor checked my blood pressure and temperature, jotting down notes in a little spiral notepad. "Everything looks good," she said eventually, and sat back on the desk. "Before I let you go, was there anything else?"

I looked away, and started speaking before I realised it. "I, uh, I lied before," I said.

The doctor's expression fell. "Oh?"

"To everyone," I continued. "To my parents, to Doctor Randall, even to my best friend. A lot more happened to me than what I said."

The doctor met my gaze. "Well you can trust me," she said. "I promise that whatever you tell me doesn't leave this room."

I looked out the window, and suddenly felt like I was a million miles away. "Two words," I said softly.

"Sorry?"

"Two words she said to me while the sky was falling," I said. "And then I watched them do the impossible, right in front of me. The more time passes, the more I keep thinking back to that moment and those two words." I blinked, and turned back to the doctor. I'd forgotten she was there in the room. She probably already thought I was crazy. "I'm sorry," I said, and offered her my most charming smile. "That probably doesn't make a lot of sense. I've thought about this a lot, and it's still all kind of jumbled in my head."

The doctor nodded. "You know what I like to try?" she asked.

"Water-skiing?"

She laughed lightly, and stepped back around the desk. "Not quite," she replied. "If I'm trying to make sense of something, I start at the very beginning. Saying it all out loud the way it happened can help you put your thoughts in order. Just start from the beginning. I promise I'll listen," and she gestured to her lab coat. "It's what the outfit means. I'm here to help."

"All of it?" I frowned. "We might be here a while."

The doctor sat down and settled in. "I've got no other patients today," she said. "The floor is yours."

I took a deep breath. "Okay, okay," I began. "I guess the best place to start would be when we pulled into the museum carpark that morning, the day before New Year's Eve..."

 _To be continued._


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's notes -_ Jokermask _\- great to see you again :). Yeah, like I said,_ Megaforce _was such a disappointment that I turned into a fan I didn't want to be. Part of the reason I wrote this was to remember what I loved about the show. I agree with you on_ Dino Charge _, too. I think it's one of the best casts we've ever had, and you can see the effort that's gone into the story. I like it for that. Plus, Riley is adorable._ Dguice _\- good to hear from you again, thanks for the kind words. When I sat down to write_ The Impossible Boy _, I wanted it to be a very different story. In terms of scope, length, the ever-escalating action scenes (which only get bigger and more epic as the story continues), and the fact that the narrator is a character who's never met any of the Rangers before in his life, I was aiming for a BIG story, and it's very different to anything I've written before (and I don't think I could write anything like it again). But it turned out really well, and I think you'll enjoy it :)._ Whitebeard - _great to hear from you again too :). Trust me, now that we've flashed back to the beginning, Tim's troubles are only just starting... I remember you were really looking forward to meeting some mythological beings in_ Lost and Found in Greece _, but you know, I only used Greece in that story as an exotic treasure-quest location. Pay attention to some of the dialogue in this chapter, because I think you'll really enjoy the next three or four chapters ... ;)_

 _Thanks for feedback so far, folks! The first chapter was really the prologue, and this is where things get awesome in a hurry._ _Onto chapter two!_ _  
_

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

It was a hot, dry morning in the city of Canberra as Dad pulled the hire car into the National Museum of Australia's parking lot and we came to a stop. One of Australia's only major landlocked cities, Canberra sits in the aptly-named Australian Capital Territory, a handy compromise between the bitter rivals of Sydney and Melbourne back when neither was willing to let the other become Australia's capital. While we were sight-seeing yesterday, Mum had proudly pointed out that every major decision about governing Australia takes place here in the city. I could believe that, since from everything we'd seen yesterday, it didn't seem like there was much else to do in this town anyway.

"Here we are," Dad said, as we unbuckled our seatbelts and climbed out of the car. "The National Museum of Australia. It's all yours Sally."

Beside me, my sister Sally grinned with excitement. With fair hair and blue eyes, Sally took after Dad. She was a couple of years younger than me and had always been interested in museums and art galleries, while I'd preferred the cool logic of science and numbers.

"I'm so excited!" Sally gushed. "I wanna check out the exhibit about the indigenous Australians, and then the early pioneering displays, oh, and there's an entire gallery about Australian painters and sculptors, and I saw in a brochure that there's a new exhibit about a dig from the Gibson Desert!"

"So exciting," I murmured, as we made our way through the carpark towards the front entrance. On the lawn around the building was a strange collection of mismatched statues and sculptures. None of them looked like anything besides oddly-carved pieces of stone, and I mourned for the state of public art.

Beside me, Mum frowned. "C'mon Tim," she said. "It was your choice yesterday, which means it's Sally's pick today. Besides, we've never been here before. It might be interesting!"

We were on holiday here, far away from home. It was a stupid family tradition that I'd never been able to avoid. Every year, we'd spend Christmas at home, then spend New Year's Day in some part of the world we'd never visited before. Last year it was Lord Howe Island, the year before, Auckland, and the year before that, Perth. My parents had apparently met all those years ago while on mutual family holidays, although I'd never thought to ask any more than that.

Mum reached for my hand, but I irritably jerked it away. "I just don't see why I couldn't have spent the day in the air-conditioned hotel room watching pay-per-view," I said.

"Think of all the culture you're getting," Dad said loudly, with a tiny smile.

I muttered something under my breath, content to silently mock the sculptures on the lawn around us, while Sally rolled her eyes. We reached the front of the building soon enough, and after our parents paid for the tickets, the four of us made our way inside. The building was gigantic, the interior wide and airy with a high ceiling. Immediately before us, a dinosaur skeleton towered over us, while galleries filled with exhibits stretched away on all sides. To our right sat a little gift shop, already full of children buying toys and games, while a signpost hanging from the ceiling pointed to bathrooms and the museum cafe outside by the gardens.

Dad turned to Sally. "Where to first?" he asked. His enthusiasm actually sounded real. God help me. I don't know how he did it.

"How about we go and see the..." Sally began, but I cut her off.

"Can I just leave you guys to do your own thing?" I asked. "Sal's gonna have a lot more fun without me, and I can just wander around by myself for a while." I glanced to my watch. "It's nine thirty now. I'll meet you guys in the cafe at one o'clock or so? Can we just do that?"

Dad nodded. "I don't see anything wrong with that," he said. "Do you Linda?"

Mum looked around nervously. "The museum is such a big place," she said. "What if he gets lost?"

I was standing right there. "I'll be fine!" I fumed. "It's only a museum. I'm not gonna stumble through a door and wind up halfway across the Universe, am I?"

"Linda, we may as well," Dad said, then turned to me. "Just stay out of trouble. One o'clock, the cafe."

"I'll be there," I said. Without another glance in their direction, I turned and walked away.

Left to my own devices, I spent the morning wandering aimlessly through the museum's various galleries with my thumbs hooked into my pockets, listening to my footsteps on the tiles. I looked idly at paintings, watching video exhibits and inspected fossils and dusty war memorabilia. The museum wasn't too busy and many of the galleries were practically empty, although I couldn't help but notice a lot of teenagers around. There seemed to be a lot of people my age wandering through the galleries, far more than I would've expected. They were all polite and friendly enough, waving hello and smiling as we crossed paths. I guess the National Museum of Australia was a happening kind of place that day.

Close to midday, when I'd explored most of the building, I made my way down a long corridor of priceless works of art and turned to find a gallery I hadn't seen before. I glanced to the sign by the entryway and remembered one of the things Sally had said in the carpark. Around me was the museum's latest exhibit, the archaeological dig from the Gibson Desert. I quickly read the story on the signboard. Apparently a mining crew had been testing for new sites when they'd found a treasure trove of ancient artefacts from the original tribes who'd lived in the area. The mining team had contacted the museum, and because of the private companies involved, the artefacts had been quickly shipped to Canberra.

I stepped past the sign into the gallery. Large windows offered a wide view of the lawn beside the museum, including half a dozen of those ridiculous statues. All around me were glass cases with the recovered artefacts inside. There was the usual collection of weapons and tools, but in the far corner, I noticed a shiny silver orb about the size of a soccer ball. It seemed so out-of-place that I was automatically drawn to it. The curve of the sphere was rough and pitted, and I felt the hairs on my arm standing on end when I passed. According to the plaque beside the case, even the museum staff had no idea what the orb was or what it did. The only thing they could say with any certainty was that the orb was an impossibility, something that shouldn't have existed in that time and place, but did.

Unimpressed, I gave the orb a final glance before walking away. But as I did, an absurd thought crossed my mind, as if a ghost had suddenly appeared in a corner of the room and I'd looked over a second too late to catch it.

 _For half a second, it felt like the orb was watching me back._

I glanced over my shoulder, but the sphere was still sitting there motionless. I shook my head to clear my thoughts, when I heard footsteps and looked back to the entryway.

A young man had just stepped into the gallery. He had dark wavy hair and looked to be about twenty or so. He had a strong frame and was powerfully-built, like a rugby player or a fighter. My first thought was that he was definitely not someone I would've wanted to cross. But as he noticed me there in the gallery, he nodded a greeting and offered a smile. It was then I noticed the kindness in his face that I'd missed from my first glance.

He seemed a lot more interested in all the artefacts. I watched as he scanned the room, then began to methodically work his way through the collection, taking his time to carefully read the sign beside every piece.

I stepped towards him. "Now there's someone who takes his museums seriously," I said.

The young man looked up as I approached, as if he'd forgotten there was someone else in the room. Seeing me, he laughed and stood back. "It's part of the job," he said, then lowered his voice. "Honestly? You wouldn't believe how much time I spend in museums. It's crazy."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," I said.

He waved his hand. "Don't worry, I needed a break," he replied. "My eyes were going fuzzy," and he pointed to the plaque beside a collection of ancient hunting knives. "I must've looked at that sign three times, and I don't think I read a single word."

I extended my hand. "I'm Tim, by the way."

He shook my hand. "Nice to meet you," he said. "I'm Jason. Jason Scott."

"So what do you do," I began, nodding to the exhibit, "if this is all part of the job?"

"I'm a college student," Jason replied easily. "I study on a campus up north. I'm guessing you're still in high school?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Starting grade twelve in February. I know the hard stuff's waiting at the end of the year. I'm definitely not looking forward to it."

"It gets harder before it gets easier, I'll give you that," Jason said. "Any idea what you want to do after you finish?"

"I've always been interested in the sciences," I replied. "I like the idea of going into medicine. The world will never have too many doctors, after all. But I need a really good year at school. The only other thing I really enjoy is writing, but I'm not that good. And there's a hell of a lot less job security."

"Yeah, my best friend is brilliant with words," he replied. "I've always been jealous of you guys. I was never much of an English student. But honestly? If you're a decent writer, you're halfway there for college anyway."

"I'm trying not to think about it," I said. "It gets overwhelming."

"You don't have to be scared of it," Jason said. "College is actually a lot of fun."

"I'll take your word for it," I replied.

"I know it seems pretty scary, and when I was younger, I used to think that too," he said. For a second, I could see a faraway look in his eyes. "But give the world a chance. It might just surprise you. I know it sure as hell keeps surprising me."

"It's hard to see that sometimes," I said. "Most of the time, life seems like it's little more than heart-break, parking tickets and tax returns. You know, this desperate scramble to hurry up and be what everyone expects you to be. I don't know. There's no room for magic anymore."

Jason laughed. "You are way too cynical to be a high school student," he said.

"Sorry," I replied. "I've been through a bad couple of months. But that doesn't mean I'm wrong, either," and I pointed to the exhibits around us. "There's an artefact in the back corner they reckon is an archaeological impossibility. Sure, it could be magical, but you know what? It could also be just a rock. Like, I don't know, take the Power Rangers for example," and I noticed his eyes grow wide for a second. "I read last year that on one of their adventures, the Rangers met an actual Greek god? Eros or something? I saw it in a newspaper, and I'm telling you now. Don't believe it. It's rubbish."

"So you don't believe in the impossible?" Jason asked.

"What's the point?" I replied. "It doesn't matter either way, does it?"

Jason nodded. "That's fair," he said. "So what was this archaeological impossibility that's probably just a rock?"

I pointed to the pitted orb in the back corner of the gallery. "It's over there," I replied. "I'm not sure what it is, but neither are they."

He saw what I was talking about, and just like that, he became a different person. His expression changed from friendly to coolly-determined in an instant. When he spoke next, all traces of warmth were gone from his voice. "Thanks for pointing that out to me," he said quickly. He didn't sound hostile, but it suddenly felt like I was the furthest thing from his mind. "Listen, if you're ever up north, look me up. University of the Sunshine Coast. We can hang out. It was good to meet you Tim," and he met my gaze. For half a second, that kindness was back in his face. "See you around. Stay safe," and without another drastic change in his demeanour, he brushed past me.

Whoa. That was weird.

He must really take his museums seriously.

I shrugged and looked at my watch. It was close to twelve thirty, which meant it was almost time to meet my family at the cafe. Putting the young man's odd behaviour at the back of my mind, I headed for the gallery entrance. But as I crossed the room, I saw the grounds outside suddenly plunge into darkness, as if something enormous had moved between the city and the midday sun. But that was impossible. I looked to the window curiously, wondering what on Earth was happening outside, when I heard the sound of footsteps on the tiled floor. It sounded like a lot of people were rapidly approaching the exhibit.

And it was that exact second when all hell broke loose.

The wall facing me was ripped away from the building and thrown aside, as if a vengeful giant had suddenly broken the building in half. Plaster and debris rained down over me as the remaining wall toppled inwards, destroying the exhibit and burying the relics in a pile of tangled rubble. Frozen in disbelief, I could only watch as the roof high above me began caving in, the girders crashing to the floor and destroying anything they landed on. I screamed and dived towards the only wall still standing, desperate for cover as the entire gallery collapsed around me. A flying shard of glass sliced into my arm, while a piece of the wall struck my face and filled my mouth with blood.

I spat out a mouthful of red onto the floor and gazed around in breathless terror, my heart hammering against my ribs.

 _What the hell had just happened?_

Through the missing corner of the building, I could see the grass beside the museum and the carpark in the distance. Everywhere I looked, people were running and screaming in a blind panic. Outside, the odd sculptures on the lawn that had looked so silly before were now sinister shapes looming out of the smoke cloud. Shadow fell, blocking out the light, and I glanced up through the destroyed ceiling.

"Oh my God," I breathed.

Hovering over the museum was a giant silver spaceship. It couldn't have been anything else. Larger than the entire museum, the ship was perfectly round and covered in shiny chrome, with a smooth exterior and dark triangular windows. The lower levels of the ship seemed to be rotating, gaps in the sides of the hull reminding me of gears and cogs turning in a system. The whole thing looked like it was straight out of a movie, except it had a lot more guns than I would've expected.

I suddenly remembered the dark-haired young man I'd been talking to not two minutes ago. Gripped by the overwhelming urge to get the hell out of there, I glanced frantically around the room. Even with the thick cloud of smoke, I couldn't see him. He must've escaped through the giant hole in the wall.

I climbed to my feet, coughing from all the dust, and was about to follow him to safety when a figure appeared in the cloud, taking slow, deliberate steps into the ruined building. My first thought was that whoever it was had the shape of a woman, but as the smoke cleared, I realised the person in front of me wasn't even a person! She had a silvery metal body, with shiny chrome from her boots to her fingertips. Covering her exterior shell was stylised body-armour. Her face was almost human but for her glowing red eyes and a malevolent scowl. Strands of braided metal hair fell from her head, while on her chest was an odd symbol, a diamond with a cog inside. I could see the symbol repeated on her gauntlets and boots, and wondered what it meant.

I froze, holding my breath. Whoever this robot-woman was, she didn't look friendly. But as she swept her gaze around the wreckage, she didn't seem to notice me at all.

"Where is it?" she said aloud, her voice a menacing robotic drone as she scanned the debris. "All our readings showed it was here. Where is the...?" but her voice trailed off as she turned to my corner of the room.

My heart skipped a beat as I realised she was staring straight at me.

"You," she said, and marched towards me. I backed away but ran into the wall. "Organic filth," she continued, her voice dripping with contempt. "You must know. Where is it? Where have you hidden it? _Where is it?_ "

"I don't know!" I shouted. "I don't know what you're looking for! If you tell me I can help you look! I don't know what it is!"

She ignored me. "Where is it?" she demanded again, and then stopped. " _Where is my orb?_ "

The sky lit up, and I looked up as twelve streaks of light shot down out of the clouds towards the museum. The robot-woman quickly retreated, and a second later, all twelve Power Rangers materialised before me, landing between me and my attacker. As one, the line of heroes raised their fists defensively and stepped forward. I couldn't believe it. They were right in front of me, so close I could've reached out and touched them. But I quickly thought better of it.

The Orange Ranger glanced over his shoulder. "Get out of here!" he called. "Get to safety!"

I pointed to the wall and tried to explain that there was literally nowhere I could go, but my voice caught in my throat and the best I could manage was a terrified squeak. Besides, I had the feeling that the safest place in the city right now was three feet behind _them_.

"Rangers!" hissed the robot. "How dare you interfere with my holy mission?"

"We know why you're here Automica," said the Red Ranger, addressing the psychotic robot. "We know what you're looking for."

"And we won't let you have it," finished the male White Ranger.

"As if you have a choice," the robot shot back. "That orb is my divine right, to fulfill the righteous orders of the Perfect System and cleanse the galaxy of the blasphemy that is organic life!"

I had no idea what any of that meant, but I saw the Rangers glance worriedly back and forth, and I knew it couldn't be good.

"Listen to reason," said the Yellow Ranger. "You're blindly parroting your faith like a zealot! With no care for the people you're going to hurt! People who pose you no threat and who've caused you no harm!"

"Exactly," added the younger of the two Blue Rangers. "Why? Why are you doing this? Do you even know?"

"Enough!" screamed Automica. "You are organic! Diseased and flawed! You will be the first to fall against me!"

The Black Ranger summoned his Power Axe. "Go ahead and try," he growled.

Automica laughed shrilly. "I knew you would attempt to stop me," she began, "but the divine truth of the Perfect System will not be denied! Bishops!"

Automica snapped her fingers, and in a dozen flashes of light, twelve more robots beamed down from the hovering ship. They were seven feet tall, and their silver bodies bristled with weaponry. They had glowing eyes, and their heads were adorned with crowns that looked like spinning gears. The same strange diamond symbol covered their bodies, but as I glanced between them, I saw that each robot's eyes were shining a different colour than the rest. The Rangers stepped back fearfully, and I knew they'd realised why.

"All of you," Automica instructed, "keep the Rangers busy. I will find the orb!"

"Automica, wait!" began the girl White Ranger, but it was too late. With a gesture from their leader, the twelve robots identified their opposite numbers and charged towards them.

The destroyed gallery erupted with the sounds of frenzied combat on all sides. The screech of steel, the whistle of laser fire and the noise of explosions immediately filled the air. On my left, one of the robot bishops leaped towards the Purple Ranger and tackled her outside, while the Grey Ranger somersaulted to safety as his opponent thundered towards him. A few metres away, the Aqua Ranger sprang forward with a high kick and launched his enemy out onto the grass, while the Black Ranger behind him carved his axe straight towards his robotic adversary. On the other side of the room, the Pink Ranger summoned her Power Bow and began firing as the elder Blue Ranger traded blows with his opponent using his three-pronged lance.

I dropped to the ground and pulled my knees close. Protecting my face, I covered my ears and tried to make myself as small as possible while desperate battles were waged all around me. Despite the chaos, I could hear myself screaming with every explosion. But there was nowhere to run, no way to escape. Everywhere I looked, the Rangers were trading blows with Automica's ruthless bishops. If I made a move in any direction, I was dead.

After a minute I heard an explosion much closer than the rest, and I looked up to see the Red Ranger disappear in a cloud of sparks. Satisfied, the bishop turned back to its master Automica, and I realised she was standing a metre away from me.

"Look at it," she said, nodding towards me. "So fragile and pathetic. How can we be permitted to let it live? Bishop one. Kill it. By order of the Perfect System."

My breath caught in my throat as the robot stepped towards me. I tried to scream, tried to crawl to safety or beg for my life or _anything_ , but my body wasn't listening to my brain.

"Don't you dare!" came a wild shout. I looked up to see the Red Ranger falling towards us. As he landed, he slammed his fist into the bishop's chestplate, caving in the robot's shell and forcing it backwards. The Red Ranger stepped between us, massaging his fist and turning to me. "Tim!" he shouted. "Run!"

 _How did he know my name?_

But I had no time to think as the robot regained its balance and turned to face us. Laser cannons unfolded from its arms and what was left of its shattered body. Taking half a second to aim, it fired.

The Red Ranger stepped in front of the robot and the barrage slammed into him. His body shook from the force of the blast but he didn't fall. Instead, the Red Ranger stepped forward, grabbing one of the robot's outstretched arms and crumpling it between his fingers. The robot fired its chest cannons again, and I lost sight of the Red Ranger as the whole area erupted in sparks and fire. But an almighty blow sounded, and I watched the bishop stagger back. The Red Ranger followed, landing blow after blow and destroying more and more of his opponent with every punch, yet still the robot kept firing. Finally, closing the distance between them, the Red Ranger smashed his fist into the bishop's head. As the red light in the robot's eyes flickered, the Ranger summoned his Power Sword in a flash of light, taking the bishop's head off with one swing and slicing its body in half with a second.

The bishop fell to the ground in pieces as the Red Ranger collapsed to his knees, panting and leaning on his sword. His body was still smoking, and I could see the charred, burned parts of his suit.

"You okay?" asked the Orange Ranger, immediately by his team-mate's side. I saw him rest a reassuring hand on the Red Ranger's shoulder.

The Red Ranger stood up. "Better now," he said.

Watching them from a few metres away, Automica seethed in frustration. "Bishop seven, you have lost your target!" she shouted. "Find him! Destroy them both!"

With its eyes glowing orange, the seventh bishop charged out of the smoke cloud, swinging its fists straight for the two Rangers. They leaped to safety with a second to spare as the robot's hands slammed into the ground and left a crater on the floor. Finding his footing, the Orange Ranger kicked high, slamming his boot into the bishop's head. The robot staggered back, and before it could recover, the Red Ranger raced forward, carving his blade through the bishop's chest shell. Fighting side-by-side, the two Rangers continued to keep their opponent off-balance, pressing forward with every blow. As the bishop fired its arm cannons, the Orange Ranger summoned his sword in a flash of orange, blocking the barrage and destroying the bishop's arm before ducking low to let the Red Ranger destroy the other arm. As the bishop fell back sparking, the Orange Ranger charged his sword and slashed it straight for the robot, instantly destroying it.

But with the second bishop destroyed and Automica on the far side of the room, there was suddenly a clear path between me and the hole in the wall. I could still hear battles going on outside, but it sounded like they were spread out over the museum grounds. All I wanted to do was get out of there and find my family. Taking deep breaths, I leaped to my feet and bolted.

I made it three steps. My feet weren't moving as fast as I wanted them to, and I tripped over a support beam and crashed to the ground, tearing the skin on my elbows and knees. Dazed and confused, I looked around.

The metallic orb Automica had come for was facing me from under a pile of debris, not half a metre away.

My first thought was, 'run'.

But then I realised the Orange and Red Rangers were standing somewhere behind me with their opponents destroyed. I had no idea what the orb was or why it was so important, but if I could get it to the Rangers, they'd know what to do with it and be able to keep it safe.

I reached out for it, when a pair of silver hands wrenched it out of my grasp.

Oh no.

"Finally," Automica droned, holding the orb up to her metallic face. "Finally the Skethani virus is mine, and I can complete my divine mission!"

I crawled away from her. "The what virus?" I asked.

"Automica!" shouted the Red Ranger. We spun to face the two heroes, standing a few feet away with their swords raised. "Drop it. _Now_."

"You know what the virus is and what it does," said the Orange Ranger. "And you are _not_ leaving here with it. Do you understand?"

Automica didn't reply for a few seconds, glancing from the orb to me and back again. I could literally hear the gears turning inside her head. "For once Rangers, I completely agree with you," she said.

"Automica," growled the Red Ranger, his voice low and dangerous. "Don't."

Automica laughed as I gazed around for an escape. "Tales of Earth's magnificent champions have spread far and wide across the galaxy," she said, balancing the orb in one hand. "They say the twelve of you can accomplish the impossible. Well Rangers, you know the legends about the Skethani virus as well as I do. Let's find out," and she held the orb up to her face. " _Awaken_."

"No!" shouted the Orange Ranger, but it was too late.

Flashes of lightning lit up the ruined gallery as fingers of electricity crackled around us. The two heroes leaped towards me, but the orb must've sensed them and blasted them away in a blaze of sparks. I was shouting, but my voice was lost to the maelstrom as an inhuman screech filled the air. I watched helplessly as the orb in Automica's hand disintegrated, rising into the air as a cloud of silvery particles. It hung suspended for half a second, then shot down towards me as if guided by a mind of its own. I raised my arms to protect myself, but the cloud went straight past them. A horrible metallic taste filled my mouth as the cloud streamed into me without stopping. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe, and I was fighting for oxygen when I felt a burst of pain exploding through every part of me. I started convulsing, my hands shaking in front of me, and then came a splitting pain in the back of my head. As the last of the particles disappeared into me, I blacked out and collapsed to the ground.

"Good luck Rangers," Automica called, then raised her hand. "Bishops? Retreat!"

The Red and Orange Rangers leaped towards her, but Automica teleported away. The Red Ranger stamped his foot in frustration as the Orange Ranger knelt down beside me to check my pulse. Outside the museum, the sounds of combat faded away as the ten remaining bishops vanished from the scene. A few minutes later, the team regrouped inside the destroyed building, but they took one look at my body and assumed the worst.

"What happened?" asked Kim. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, where's the virus?" Zac asked.

"Automica got to the virus before we did," Jason replied softly. "Before we could stop her, she activated it and infected Tim with it." A round of murmurs went around the group, and Jason nodded. "It's our worst case scenario, guys. He's been infected with the Skethani virus. This is _bad_."

 _To be continued._


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's notes -_ Brankel _, good to see you again too :). From this chapter on, you'll see that removing the virus from poor Tim is now the Rangers' top priority. The difficulty of that task, though, is another matter entirely. Enjoy the rest of the story :)._ Jokermask _, I'm glad you picked up on that. I really wanted a female villain for this story, and I really wanted her to be robotic. In the first draft, Automica was actually a princess (because there aren't many evil princesses around, and I really liked the idea) of the Machine Empire, as kind of an early cameo for the Machine Empire. I thought it might be nifty to throw in a hint of villains that we know will eventually show up to battle the Rangers. But ... if the Machine Empire approaches Earth this early, then why wouldn't they_ keep _attacking? And once the Rangers meet a representative of this empire, they'd obviously keep it in the 'open case' file, and keep investigating this mysterious empire. It just wouldn't have worked. It was too early. But then I thought, well, why not make her a_ priestess _? That's just as cool. And that let me explore the idea of a religious cult for robots, which was not only a cool idea by itself, but allowed some great world-building (showing that the Rangers are only a small part of this wider Universe, and all this other stuff is happening around them). The whole idea turned out brilliantly, essentially, and I think you'll like it :)._

 _Now, onto chapter 3! I hope everyone was paying attention to the conversation Jason had with Tim in chapter two before Automica attacked. It refers back to another story in my series (that I never got around to actually writing), but you won't get lost, I explain everything as we go :)._

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

The murky haze began to lift as I slowly returned to my senses. Fuzzy shapes swam in front of my eyes, and the first thing I noticed was that I still had this odd metallic taste in my mouth. It wasn't blood, though, but something I couldn't identify. Blinking, I sat up, and the world took shape around me.

I was sitting on the lawn outside the museum. All around me were charred and burnt patches of grass, lingering evidence of the battles that had just taken place. But I was surrounded on all sides by human shapes. As they came into focus, I realised that all twelve Power Rangers were standing guard around me. I couldn't see any of the evil robots, but none of the Rangers looked relaxed. Indeed, they were all warily scanning the horizon.

"Hey guys," called the girl White Ranger. "Guys, check it out! He's waking up!"

The heroes all turned to me, and the elder of the two Blue Rangers offered me a hand. I gratefully accepted it and stood up. I was woozy for a few seconds and wobbled on my feet as a wave of nausea washed over me, but it passed soon enough.

"Thanks," I said, and massaged my head. "Ow. What the hell was that?"

"Timothy Sanderson, I believe your name is," said the elder Blue Ranger, then noted my puzzled expression. "We took the liberty of checking your wallet while you were unconscious. How do you feel?"

"I've definitely felt better," I murmured, then looked around. "Wait, are those things gone? Are we okay here?"

"Automica and her bishops have all gone," replied the Yellow Ranger. "Don't worry. We're safe."

"At least for now," added the Purple Ranger, in a tone I didn't like one bit.

"Automica?" I repeated. "That was her, the crazy robot lady, wasn't it? Who was she? And why was she a 'she' if she's a robot? What the hell is going on?"

The elder of the two Blue Rangers nodded. "We owe you a lot of explanations," the young man said. When he continued, it was with a slow, measured voice that I soon realised was for my benefit. The more he spoke, the gladder I was for it. "Some time ago on a distant alien world, a series of robots were manufactured and programmed with a far more complex artificial intelligence than usual. Surprisingly, one of the first things they began doing was asking existential questions about the nature of their existence, about the very purpose of their being. Without any prompting, they developed their own system of belief, if you will, devoted to the worship of the perfect machinery of cogs and gears."

I didn't reply for a long time, letting what he was saying sink in. "But that's crazy," I said eventually. "You're talking about a religion for robots. That's mad!"

The Blue Ranger tilted his head. "For want of a better phrase, that's more or less accurate," he said. "But unfortunately, in what seems to be a disturbingly common trend, an individual pursuing their own agenda within the larger group twisted the organisation's ideals into something they were never intended to be. We recently learned that Automica, the high priestess who led the attack on the museum today, was leading a breakaway sect..."

"The divine order of the Perfect System," interrupted the Black Ranger, standing a few metres behind everybody else.

"Yeah, I got that part," I said irritably. "Go on."

"They believe that organic, biological life is a blasphemous imperfection that deserves to be wiped out," the elder Blue Ranger continued. He glanced around, seemingly hesitant to continue. "Which brings us to today and the Skethani virus."

"The what now?" I asked, then my memory caught up with me. "The, the priestess, she said that to me when she, when she..." but I gazed down in horror at my hands. "Oh God it's in me! What is it? What is it?! _It's in me!_ "

The girl White Ranger pushed past her team-mates to grab my arms and hold me in place. "Hey!" she shouted, forcing me to focus on her visor. When the sunlight hit her helmet, for half a second I could see her eyes. "It's okay! Look at me. Listen to me. You're going to be okay. Yes, something bad happened..."

"Something really bad, actually," the Aqua Ranger interrupted.

The White Ranger shot him a look. "Thank you Br..." she began, but caught herself just in time. "Aqua," she corrected, then turned back to me. "But we _can_ fix this, okay?"

I looked from the White Ranger to her eleven team-mates. I could see them watching me carefully. But after taking a couple of deep breaths, I felt my heart-rate returning to normal. "Okay," I nodded, and the White Ranger stepped back. "But you're not telling me everything. This virus, what is it? What's it gonna do to me?"

"The Skethani virus is part magic, part super-science," explained the Yellow Ranger. "The orb you saw in the museum was the virus's inert form. What we assume Automica did was activate the virus with some kind of electric charge."

"What does 'Skethani' even mean?" I asked.

"It's a word from a long-extinct alien language meaning ultimate death," explained the younger Blue Ranger. I noticed that his costume was a lighter shade of blue than his older team-mate. "Imagine a total void, infinite nothing."

The elder Blue Ranger nodded. "Yes, a state of being before the Universe even existed," he added. "That's the approximate definition of 'Skethani', as best as we could translate it."

"So it's something pretty scary," I said. "What does it actually do?"

The Rangers looked around to each other, suddenly nervous. "In laymen's terms," began the elder Blue Ranger, "the virus is a possibly-sentient biomechanical plague. Made up of nanotech components, its programmed goal is the total eradication of all organic, biological lifeforms. There's no stopping it and there's no reprogramming it. And with every piece of organic matter it disassembles, it then uses those molecules to replicate. If left unchecked, the virus could cause a catastrophic disaster on a galactic scale."

I felt my heart skip a beat. "And that thing is inside me?" I whispered, terrified the slightest noise might set it off.

"According to legend," the Orange Ranger explained, "the virus was created a century ago by a scientist from the planet Dhalia. Nobody's really sure what happened, but once the virus was finished, the scientist smuggled it off-world and eventually hid it here on Earth. The current theory is that she always planned to return for it and then sell it to the highest bidder, but she never did. Like Bi... Blue said, you can imagine why that would've been a nightmare scenario. At any rate, the museum found it accidentally, and they put it on display without knowing what it was."

"We came here to get it, but Automica beat us to it," the Pink Ranger finished.

"So you cornered her and she infected me with the virus to get away?" I asked.

The elder Blue Ranger nodded. "Affirmative," he replied, and I noticed he was holding a small phone-sized device. The device beeped, and he raised it to his helmet. "Guys, the energy readings here are astronomical," he said. "They'll be sensing this on the moon."

"Energy readings?" I repeated. "Why does this keep sounding worse? C'mon, tell me the truth. What's going to happen to me? I deserve to know."

"Unfortunately, Automica had another reason to infect you with the virus," the Yellow Ranger replied. "The virus is feeding on your bioelectrical energy. You probably won't even notice, although you may feel increasingly fatigued."

"If your life energy is, say, dramatically cut off by an external force," began the elder Blue Ranger.

"Like if the robots had killed me?" I asked.

He nodded. "With its hibernation interrupted, the virus would break free, untamed and incomplete," he continued. "It would be impossible to control, and would ravage any nearby areas with a hyper-destructive storm."

I glanced down to my body. "So what you're telling me is that I'm a walking weapon of mass destruction?"

"Essentially," replied the younger Blue Ranger. "Which is why we need to get the virus out of you sometime in the next three days."

My brow fell. "Three days?" I repeated. "Why the time limit?"

The longer they took to reply, the worse I knew it would be. "According to its folklore," the elder Blue Ranger said finally, "once the virus has charged, it will burst free, consuming you in the process. You, uh, you may not..."

"Am I gonna die?" I asked. My voice broke. The world started spinning around me. " _Am I gonna die?_ " My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the grass. "Oh God, I'm gonna die..."

"He's going into shock," said the Yellow Ranger. "Tim! Stay with us!"

I didn't hear a word she said. I started hyperventilating, and everything went blurry. I felt tears streaming down my face, and I wiped them away with the back of my hand. All I could think about were my parents, my sister and my best friend. I thought of their faces, the jokes we'd told, all the things we'd seen and done. I thought about Dad and the way he liked his morning coffee. I thought about how Mum always went to the same supermarket checkout operator even though she said he was never very friendly. I remembered how Sally had been so excited at the thought of coming to the museum. I thought about my best friend Alex, and the last day of school when I'd thrown a water balloon at my teacher and accidently hit the vice-principal (who nobody liked anyway). I thought about my favourite songs and movies, and they flashed past me in a blur. And I thought about all these things knowing I'd never see or hear them ever again.

I could hear the Rangers talking and could vaguely feel their attention, but I didn't register a single word. In a daze, I looked up to the Purple Ranger who was standing nearby.

"In three days, I'm going to die," I whispered.

"No you're not," she said, and yanked me to my feet.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Because we can change the world in a minute," she replied. "Just think of all the things we can do in three days."

"Yeah, okay," I said, without a shred of confidence. "Whatever."

The Pink Ranger glanced around to her team-mates. "So what's the plan?" she asked. "Bi... Blue said it himself. Tim has a target on his back. What do we do now?"

"I want to find my family," I said softly, and tugged at the arm of the Grey Ranger standing beside me. "Please, let me see my mother and my father."

The Grey Ranger turned to me sadly then looked back to his team-mates. "We have to get Tim some place safe," he said.

"Automica may have retreated, but it's a safe bet she's not far away," the Yellow Ranger said. "We can count on her coming back for Tim, sooner rather than later."

"Tri... Yellow's right," the Aqua Ranger agreed. "And if this thing is as powerful as everyone says, then Automica's not gonna be the only one who tries. We're gonna have bad guys falling out of the sky. We have to get out of here."

I was already overwhelmed, and I was fighting to keep up. "Well that's really not good," I mumbled. "We should definitely get out of here then."

The Rangers turned to me as if they'd forgotten I was there. "It's okay," the girl White Ranger said, resting a hand on my arm. "We can take you to our Command Centre. You'll be protected there. Not many people know where it is, and we can keep you safe until we figure out how to get the virus out of you."

"I guess," I said, "but how do we get there?"

"We can teleport," she said, doing her best to sound reassuring. "You'll be fine."

"It's settled then," the Black Ranger said. "C'mon, let's go," and he reached for his wrist.

The elder Blue Ranger grabbed his arm. "Wait, no, stop!" he shouted. "If the Skethani virus is even halfway as self-aware as its folklore suggests, once it sees where we've taken it..."

The Rangers realised what he was saying even if I didn't, and they lowered their heads in defeat.

"Damn it," swore the Red Ranger. "That'd make Tim the perfect Trojan horse. We can't risk it, not even with all our resources there. But where can we go? We need somewhere safe, but somewhere we can get help..."

"And somewhere we're not likely to put anyone in harm's way," finished the Orange Ranger.

"That rules out Briarwood or Dragon Island," said the Purple Ranger.

"We can risk a jump to another dimension, can't we?" asked the male White Ranger. "Surely Tim would be safe in Gargoyle Castle."

"We'd still need to travel through the Command Centre to get there," the elder Blue Ranger replied.

"Plus, we don't know that Automica can't track us across dimensions," the younger Blue Ranger added. "It's not a bad idea To... White, but we can't put Culdee and Tobias in that kind of danger."

"And we might even pick up more bad guys when we get there," said the Aqua Ranger.

"Then where can we go?" asked the Pink Ranger, and pointed skyward. "Guys, we're wasting time Tim doesn't have."

The Grey Ranger stepped forward. "This might be a really bad idea," he began, "but what about Olympus?" and he began counting on his fingers. "Eros still owes us that favour. It's hard to get to. People would never think to look for us there. And you can't say we wouldn't be well protected. I know it's risky, but if nothing else, it buys us time to figure out our next move."

The Orange Ranger gazed around the group. "That's actually a really good idea," he said. "The gods aren't gonna be happy, but I mean," and he shrugged. "We're out of options."

"It's definitely worth a shot," agreed the girl White Ranger.

I blinked. "Hang on a second," I said. "Olympus? As in, _Mount_ Olympus? Zeus and Hercules and warrior princesses and all that stuff?"

"Sorry to dump all this on you so quickly," the Pink Ranger began, "but that's the superhero thing. You gotta move fast."

"And hey," said the Aqua Ranger, "you've got the twelve of us around you the whole time."

That didn't sound like much help. "Um, okay?"

The Red Ranger turned to his pink-clad team-mate. "Make the shot," he said.

The Pink Ranger nodded. In a flash of pink, she summoned her Power Bow. Taking aim at the clouds, she pulled back the string, and a glowing arrow appeared in the weapon.

"Find Eros," she whispered, and fired.

The arrow shot up into the sky, but froze about thirty feet off the ground as if it'd been caught by an invisible hand. I watched in disbelief as the shape of a young man began to materialise in midair, holding the arrow the Pink Ranger had just fired. He was a teenager about the same age as me, with spiky blond hair, a handsome face and chiselled features. The thing that threw me most was his eyes. They were old, and his gaze didn't match the rest of his face. He was floating above us thanks to the white feathered wings at his back, and he looked down over the heroes and grinned.

"Hey guys!" the youth exclaimed. "What's up? You miss me?"

As the youth touched down in front of us, the arrow he was holding faded away. His wings folded against his back and the Rangers rushed forward to meet him. I recalled enough of Greek myth, at least, what I'd thought was just myth until about twenty seconds ago, to instantly recognise who the Rangers were talking to.

Eros, the god of love.

Eros even had a quiver at his side and an ornate, golden bow strapped around his chest. But for the Rangers, meeting a genuine, honest-to-goodness god seemed like every other day, and they greeted him like an old friend.

 _What the hell was going on?_

"It's good to see you again," said the Red Ranger.

"Thanks for catching the arrow," the Pink Ranger added.

"No problem," Eros grinned. "It's always great to catch up. But ooh, why the serious faces? Is this scary Ranger stuff?"

I stepped forward. "Faces?" I repeated, then realised exactly what those eyes were seeing. "You can see through their helmets, can't you?"

Eros turned to me, then smiled curiously. "Who's the newbie?" he asked.

"He's the reason we need your help," the Orange Ranger explained. "His name's Tim, and he's been infected by the Skethani virus."

At the mention of the word 'Skethani', I saw Eros's eyes go wide. With a look of surprise, he swept his gaze over me as if seeing me for the first time. "Whoa," he said softly. "Kid, you _are_ having a bad day."

"No kidding," I said.

"We've already got one supervillain gunning for us," the male White Ranger said, "and it's only a matter of time before more show up. We need to get Tim somewhere safe. We thought of Olympus and figured we could call in the favour."

"I'm happy to help," Eros replied. "After all, a debt's a debt. And if this poor kid has the Skethani virus inside him, you'll need all the help you can get."

"We're worried about your family though," the Purple Ranger said.

"Yeah, they may not be so keen on this," Eros agreed, "but let me deal with them. Ooh, a Ranger mission! I've been itching to go on another one of these for ages now. Everyone stand together! I've never helped thirteen mortals through before. This could be tricky."

"Will we be okay?" asked the Red Ranger, as he took the god's hand in his right and the Orange Ranger's hand in his left.

"You know what they say," Eros said, and his wings unfolded. "You gotta have a little faith."

The girl White Ranger reached for my arm and wrapped her gloved hand around it. "Whatever happens," she said, "hold on tight. I've got you."

The remaining Rangers all linked hands. I glanced around the group, unable to read them because of their helmets, before turning to the god. He caught me staring and winked. Looking around, I realised that everything was getting brighter, so bright it was starting to hurt my eyes. With that, the ground fell away beneath us. Half a second later, there came a flash and everything – the museum, the wreckage, the carpark and all of Canberra beyond – disappeared. I felt like I was flying through the air but standing still all at once. Clouds whirled around me in a rush of light and fury, and I could hear wild screams of terror that I'm sure were mine.

Ahead of us in the sky but rapidly drawing closer was some kind of shimmering barrier. Before I knew it, we'd punched clean through. Before us was a gigantic island, floating in the sky high above the ground. I got the vague impression of vast temples, towering statues and impossibly-tall trees, and then a few seconds later, we arrived.

 _To be continued._


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's notes -_ Jokermask _, thanks :). Without spoiling you, Automica won't be the only villain who the Rangers have to deal with. But the real monstrous threat is the virus itself. That's the main problem that needs solving, and unfortunately, the virus is now stuck inside poor Tim._ Son of Whitebeard _, if you think Automica and the Perfect System are creepy, wait until you meet the next badguy, who will be arriving shortly... ;)_ SupernaturalCSI _, thanks for reading! Like I said, unfortunately I haven't written the story where the Rangers meet Eros for the first time (I'm writing these out-of-order, which is tremendously helpful :)). But yeah, all my stories stand fine by themselves, so you don't need to read any of the others to enjoy this one. I always explain everything as we go. And all you need to know is that the Rangers met Eros on a past mission, and the story ended with Eros owing the Rangers a favour. The gods tend to operate on a favours system, which you'll see in this chapter. I was always hesitant to write too many mythological gods into my series (although the canon Rangers meet gods all the time. Chad is dating a mermaid demigod princess, and the Overdrive team once spent an afternoon hanging out with Loki and Thor) ... but while I was planning_ The Impossible Boy _, I thought, what a great opportunity to write some really interesting characters. The gods were fascinating, and I'm super glad that I finally used them._

 _Just for reference, the adventure that the Grey Ranger mentions, here, where the Rangers recently met an alien god? You can read that in_ "The Little Guy" _, one of my earlier stories. Anyway, onto chapter 4 :).  
_

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

The fourteen of us materialised in a wide tiled plaza. In the centre of the plaza was a beautiful fountain, with water cascading off a dozen marble statues. I gazed around in wonder. On all sides were magnificent white stone buildings. There were palaces with towering turrets, quiet temples with rows of columns, picturesque lawns alongside ancient trees, and flower beds ablaze with colour. In the distance, I could see a gigantic statue of a god holding a lightning bolt high above his head. The strangest thing, though, was the noise. Despite the enormity of the city, it was almost completely silent. There were no sounds of traffic, no bird calls, and not even a hint of any of the city's inhabitants. Everything around us seemed unimaginably immense, even the silence. Standing there with the Rangers, I suddenly felt very small. Even the Rangers grew quiet in reverential awe, and I later learned that it was the first visit for several of them.

Time seemed strange here, though. Standing there admiring the city, it might've been seconds before one of the Rangers spoke, or it might've been hours.

"We're here," said the Red Ranger. He checked that everybody had made it and then looked back to Eros. "Where to now?"

Eros shifted on the spot. "A teleport like that? Every god on Olympus felt us arrive," he said. "There's no use hiding. We might as well go straight to them."

I wanted to ask who the 'them' referred to, but a big part of me didn't want to know.

"Lead the way," said the Orange Ranger.

Eros beckoned us to follow him, and we set off through the city. We made our way through peaceful gardens and down quiet, tree-lined avenues, passing rows of towering statues, grand mansions and bubbling fountains. Every now and then, I caught a glimpse of gods, nymphs and other shadowy figures watching the procession from safely inside their palaces and temples, but none came out to greet us. Gazing around at all the sights, I soon fell to the back of the group. "So this is actually _the_ Mount Olympus?" I breathed.

Walking beside me, the senior of the two Blue Rangers nodded. "Affirmative," he said. I was beginning to think that was his favourite word. "Architecturally alone, the city is a marvel, though the traditional laws of space and geometry seem to be optional here."

"It's definitely amazing," I agreed. "How many normal people do you think have ever seen this place?"

The Grey Ranger glanced over his shoulder. "Not that many," he said.

I had a thought and froze in my tracks. The Blue Ranger stopped beside me. "But hang on a minute," I said. "This is Mount Olympus. These are the Greek gods. Does that mean the ancient Greeks were right? That this is the only religion?"

The Blue Ranger shook his head, and gestured to the rest of the group. We jogged after them to catch up. As beautiful as Mount Olympus was, I had the feeling I didn't want to be lost here unaccompanied.

"I wouldn't think about it like that," the Blue Ranger replied, and gestured to his team-mates. "It's been our experience that, throughout history, different groups and families have attained a great deal of power through various means, and they came to be worshipped as deities by the peoples of their local areas. Think of the Greek, Egyptian or Norse pantheons, the spirits endemic to the native American tribes, or even the animal tribes of the indigenous Australian peoples."

"We're standing on Mount Olympus, Blue," said the Red Ranger. "You can call them gods."

"I'd prefer to remain objective," the Blue Ranger replied lightly, and I heard the Red Ranger laugh behind his visor.

"Wow," I said. "So, like, it's all real?"

"I can't speak for _all_ of them," the Blue Ranger began, "but yes, the Rangers and I have encountered many representatives from various legendary pantheons over the years. Some of them were quite benevolent, like our friend Eros here. Others, decidedly less so. Earth's ancient peoples had a great talent for explaining the mysteries of the world around them without the benefit of contemporary science."

"Don't listen to B... Blue," called the Pink Ranger, but I could hear the good-natured tone in her voice. "Everything's always science with him."

"Because everything always _is_ science!" the Blue Ranger chuckled.

"So you're a scientist?" I asked. He sounded smart, so it was a fair guess.

"Affirmative," he replied proudly. "It sounds like you share my passion?"

"A little bit, yeah," I said. "Can I ask you, though. How do you reconcile all of this," and I waved my hands around the palaces and temples around us, "these myths and gods and magic, with science? I get that this probably happens to you a lot, but when the world gets crazy, how do you make sense of all this?"

He took a long time to answer, but again, this was Olympus and it might've been seconds. "To me, science has always been about answering questions," he replied. "Discerning the solid truth behind otherwise unexplainable phenomena. Being a Ranger means I get to explore and quantify amazing things every day, things that very few other people will ever have the opportunity to see or experience. Honestly? Being a Power Ranger is one of the greatest learning experiences in history, and I would be lying if I acknowledged it as anything else."

"Cool," I said softly. "I'm getting that. I mean, visiting the home of the gods? Definitely a new experience. I never even went to Sunday school. But we're safe here, right? High priestess crazy won't be able to find us here, will she? We're on a floating island of the gods after all."

The Blue Ranger leaned in close and, afraid of being overheard, lowered his voice. "That is accurate, yes," he began. "But the trick with the entities we're about to meet is that although they are very powerful, they can also be..." His voice trailed off, and I felt sure his next word would be 'dangerous'. But even the Blue Ranger himself thought better, and he finally settled on a more diplomatic option. "Unpredictable," he continued. "The gods can be reasonable but they despise outsiders. Remember all the old myths and legends?" he asked, and I nodded. "Remember them _carefully_."

I flashed back to all the stories from my ancient history lessons, and all the books I'd read in the school library to pass the time on long lunch-breaks. "Oh man," I breathed. "So this is a real frying pan and fire kind of a situation?"

"An apt metaphor, all things considered," the Blue Ranger replied darkly. "The one thing to remember? The gods value respect above all else. If we keep that in mind, we should be fine. My best advice is to keep your head down and be polite without patronising them."

"And if you're super-nervous," added the Pink Ranger, "let us do all the talking."

"Trust me," I murmured, "that will not be a problem."

"Good!" announced Eros suddenly. I looked up and the youthful god grinned. "I'm a god, dude. I can hear clouds scraping together. Like I said, good," and he nodded to the marble hall before us. "Because we're here."

It was as hard to gauge distance as it was to measure time, but at a rough guess, we must've been close to the middle of the island. Directly in front of us, in the centre of a dozen streets that converged around it, was a temple so utterly gigantic that it towered over the surrounding buildings. Set back over a steep row of stone steps, the front of the temple was held up by a line of columns so large it would've taken three people with their arms outstretched to surround them. The temple roof was high over our heads, and decorated with ornate golden statues studded with precious gems.

Inside the temple, I could see two figures seated on golden thrones. I gulped loudly. "Is... is that who I think it is?" I asked quietly.

The Aqua Ranger nodded beside me. "Yep," he said.

The Purple Ranger lowered her voice. "I don't like this," she murmured.

"I don't either," said the Red Ranger, then glanced back towards me. "But we don't have a lot of options here. Eros, we'll follow you."

Eros nodded, and he led us into the great temple. Everyone was quiet, and even Eros seemed unsettled. Not two hours ago, I'd watched the Rangers fight an army of homicidal robots without a second thought. But while none of them seemed scared, they were far more subdued than they had been.

What on Earth were we walking into, that even the Rangers were nervous?

Finally, we reached the top of the steps and made our way into the great hall. The first thing I noticed was that the ceiling above was a magnificent vista of the night sky, with planets, constellations and even shooting stars. But immediately afterwards, my gaze fell onto the two golden thrones in the centre of the room. Indeed, it was impossible _not_ to look at them, as if the entire Universe existed just to revolve around those two chairs.

Seated in the thrones were Zeus and Hera.

 _Oh God._

Or, gods, I guess.

Even while sitting down, Zeus was the tallest person I'd ever met. There was a charge in the air as I looked at him. Power seemed to crackle around him. He was wearing flowing blue robes and he had dark eyes, a head of grey curls and a long, tangled beard that fell to his stomach. He didn't just look old, but _ancient_. An impossibly-huge eagle sat perched on the throne above him. As we approached, I saw him regarding us with a detached curiosity, as if we were strange specimens who'd appeared in a zoo one day.

Beside him sat his queen and wife, Hera. Beautiful and regal, Hera's face was majestic and solemn. I felt nervous just being in her presence, as if my sheer existence might offend her. An intricately-designed crown rested on her head, while her chestnut-coloured hair was curled in an elaborate style. Peacock feathers adorned her gown, while on a table beside her throne was a single lotus blossom and a bowl of fruit I later learned were pomegranates. As her gaze settled on me, I shrank back, but it was a futile gesture. Like those of her husband, her eyes had stars in them. I felt like she was staring straight through me, as if I was nothing at all.

Eros broke the heavy silence. "Um, so, hey guys," he said, but Hera silenced him with a wave of her hand.

"You have brought trespassers to Olympus?" she began, her voice echoing through the temple. "Eros, explain yourself."

"Yes boy," boomed Zeus, the irritation audible in his tone. "What is the meaning of this?"

"These are my friends from Earth," Eros replied, stepping forward and indicating the Rangers. "The mortal heroes I was telling you about. The Power Rangers! With a friend today," and he looked over to me. "I'm sorry, which one are you again?" he asked. He noticed my blue shirt and frowned in confusion. "The Blue Ranger?" and he turned to the Orange and Red Rangers. "I thought you already had a couple of those?"

"A band of mortal heroes?" Hera repeated, then glanced to Zeus. "How refreshing that none of them were sired by _you_ , dear husband."

"That we know of," Zeus murmured.

Hera shot him a look, clearly unamused, then stood up. Or maybe the entire world lowered itself three feet for her benefit. Her movement was so fluid it was hard to tell. "Who is your leader, Power Rangers of Earth?" she asked. "Tell us so we can immediately send you back to them with our displeasure."

The Red Ranger stepped forward. "Zordon of Eltar," he stated.

Hera and Zeus froze. Hera's brow fell, and she turned to Zeus with a look of uneasy recognition. They both had the appearance of two people who realised that, despite their standing, a situation was suddenly out of their hands.

"Still," Zeus grumbled, "I'll be having strong words with Zordon later, about controlling his young charges."

"Yes," Hera said, regaining her composure. "Your trespass in our sacred temple is not appreciated. It is our nature to rule, not to babysit you mortals and your petty squabbles for fame and power. Earth is yours to defend. How dare you involve us against our wishes?"

I watched as the Red and Orange Rangers angrily marched forward, only to stop when the Yellow Ranger placed a hand on their shoulders to keep them in check. "Softly," she said. "Remember where we are."

"Speak up girl," Zeus commanded. "Have some respect. You are aware who you're addressing."

The Yellow Ranger stepped forward. "We mean no disrespect," she began, "and we're sorry for the offense of coming to your home uninvited. But while it may be in your nature to rule, it is _our_ nature to protect," and she nodded back towards me. "You may look at him and see little more than a mortal boy, but we see someone who needs our help. And for the sake of this one boy, we would move mountains, alter the course of history and change the world. Any world. _Every_ world. So while you may not understand or agree with us, we ask you respect that we, like you, are only acting as our nature dictates. And we are here because we need your help."

Silence fell. I doubted I'd ever be brave enough to tell anyone, but I swore I could see the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the corner of Hera's mouth. As the Yellow Ranger joined her friends, Hera turned back to Zeus, and the two began talking in their normal voices as if they'd completely forgotten the Rangers and I were standing ten feet away.

"Do you want to get rid of them?" Zeus asked with a wave of his hand. "I've just gotten comfortable. I don't want to move."

"On the contrary, dear husband," Hera began. "I feel it may be a wise course of action to indulge Zordon's teenagers, at least just this once. After all, dear Eros does still owe them a favour, and if we provide assistance..."

Zeus clicked his fingers, catching on quickly. "Then Zordon would be willing to do us a favour in the future!" he said. "That is excellent thinking, dear wife."

The Purple Ranger leaned in close to my ear. "Politics," she whispered, and shrugged.

Zeus turned back to face us. "Besides," he continued, "I cannot shake the feeling that getting rid of them might be more trouble than it's worth. Very well. The Rangers and their friend can stay."

"Excellent, it's settled," Hera said, and crossed towards us. "You're all welcome to stay in Olympus."

"Thank you," the Yellow Ranger said, and bowed her head.

"Yeah," added the Grey Ranger. "We really appreciate it."

Hera smiled warmly. "So how can we be of help to you?"

"Our mortal friend?" began the elder Blue Ranger. "Earlier today, he was assaulted by the robotic high priestess Automica, who infected him with the Skethani virus. Even as we speak, the virus is charging within him. He has less than three days."

Hera's face fell, and she shared a look with Zeus. I frowned. Even the gods were worried? "Then your situation is most dire," Hera said. "Tell us what you need."

"Mostly?" the Red Ranger began. "Time. Time to strategise and figure out our next move. Automica has an army of robotic bishops with her. We managed to destroy two of them but she has ten more, and we're certain she'll be coming for Tim."

"Then time we shall give you," Hera said. "You! Mortal boy. Step towards me."

I realised with horror that Hera was talking to me. My legs were suddenly weak, and I felt like I was in danger of collapsing again. In the back of my mind, I knew that bolting would've been the worst idea in the history of bad ideas. But just as I was about to run, I felt one of the Rangers step close. I looked down to see fingers in a white glove intertwined with mine. The girl White Ranger was standing beside me, reminding me of everything she'd said back on Earth. I nodded, and feeling a little stronger, I stepped forward.

"Yes?" I stuttered.

"Is there anything you have need of?" Hera asked. "A pillow to rest on? Food for your stomach? Perhaps medicine for your injuries?"

The Rangers looked to me. A goddess was talking to me and I had no idea what to do. But the Rangers weren't fazed. Trying not to look like a total idiot in front of them, I found my voice. "I'm a little thirsty, actually," I said.

Hera clapped her hands. "Of course!" she said. "I should've remembered you mortals need that sort of thing. I'll fetch one of Dionysus's best wines at once!"

"You don't have to go to all that trouble," I said. "I'm only sixteen! Just some water would be nice."

Hera fixed me with a stare that could've sliced through glass. For a second, I was terrified I'd said the wrong thing, but then she laughed with genuine amusement. "You mortals are a curious bunch," Hera said. "I'll send someone to get some for you immediately."

Zeus climbed out of his throne and walked towards us. The floor shook with every step. As he approached, I took a step back without even realising it, but so too did most of the Rangers. "I just had a thought," Zeus began. "Why not visit Hephaestus's palace? He's here on Olympus presently. Just last week, he was complaining that he hasn't been challenged by anything lately."

The elder Blue Ranger turned to the Orange Ranger. "Orange?" he asked.

"Hephaestus is the god of craftsmen and the blacksmith of the gods," the Orange Ranger replied. "It couldn't hurt."

"Good," Hera said. "Eros, take your friends there at once. I'll send word."

We all headed back outside and down onto the street. The Red Ranger raised his wrist. "I think it's time we checked in," he said, and tapped a button on the communicator around his wrist. Nothing but static blared forth. "Wait..."

Several of the others tried as well, but they received no response either.

"I thought you would've realised," Eros said. "Olympus is more or less cut off from the rest of the mortal realm. You won't be able to reach your base from here."

"So we can't teleport there either?" the male White Ranger asked.

"Not without my help," Eros replied.

"Zordon doesn't know where we are," the Red Ranger said, and I could hear him frowning beneath his helmet. "That complicates things."

"Worse still, we can't use the Command Centre's resources," said the Yellow Ranger.

"Or my workshop," added the Blue Ranger. "We should definitely pay a visit to Hephaestus."

"Okay," the Red Ranger began. "Blue, Blue, White and Grey, go talk to Hephaestus," he said. "Black, you go too. Take Tim. Whatever you do, don't let him out of your sight. Orange?"

"I know my myths," the Orange Ranger replied. "I'll go with them."

"Good plan," the Red Ranger replied. "The rest of us will stay here and try to figure out our next move."

With that, the group split up, and I followed Eros and the six assigned Rangers as they walked away from Zeus and Hera's temple. Eros pointed out Hephaestus's palace, rising over the rooftops of the city with a dozen chimneys belching black smoke, and we headed straight towards it. The palace wasn't far, and we'd only been walking a few minutes when it appeared up ahead. But as we walked, I stepped closer to Eros.

"So I'm guessing that if even you guys are worried," I said, "this virus must be as bad as everybody says."

"They'll figure it out," Eros replied, and nodded to the heroes around us. "It's what they do."

"But how do you even know about it?" I asked. "It's an alien virus. I get that you're gods, but do you spend a lot of time on other planets?"

"You'd be surprised," he said. "A lot of other worlds have beings like us. And powerful deities sometimes like nothing more than to sit down and have a good gossip. It helps pass the time."

"Just a few months ago, we met the alien god Altos on another planet," the Grey Ranger said. "He was quite friendly, too."

"An alien god?" I repeated. "Wow I'm losing my sense of perspective today. But you," and I looked back to Eros. "You're not like the rest of them, are you?"

He looked genuinely surprised. "I'm not?"

"No," I said. "You care."

"It's my youth," Eros shrugged. "It's part of the deal. Although I suspect I have something a lot of my family doesn't."

"What?"

He winked. "Friends."

We reached the end of the street, and Hephaestus's palace rose above us. The chimneys were still bellowing black smoke, and I could feel the heat of the fires just standing there.

The Orange Ranger noticed the sweat beading on my forehead. "According to myth," he explained, "Hephaestus has twenty bellows in there that work by his command. It's pretty cool."

Standing by the entrance to the workshop were two enormous bronze statues. They were easily twenty feet tall, with stern expressions on their metal faces and giant spears raised high. But I had the strangest feeling I was being watched. All of a sudden, as we approached the palace's entrance, the two statues turned to face us. With the hiss of steam and the clanking of gears from within, they stepped off their pedestals and moved menacingly towards us.

The Rangers were instantly all business, forming a wall in front of me and summoning their Power Weapons with a thought.

"Eros, what's the deal?" asked the White Ranger. "What's going on?"

The statues took another step towards us. Eros glanced from them to me and then back again. "It's the virus inside your friend!" he said. For the first time, he sounded genuinely worried. "They're responding automatically! I can't stop them!" In one smooth motion, he pulled an arrow free of his quiver and aimed it at the advancing statues. "Hephaestus!"

The doors to the workshop swung open and a hulking figure stepped outside. He was almost as tall as Zeus, and the ground under his feet shook with every step. He had a work belt of tools dangling around his stomach. His clothes were charred and blackened, his face scarred and pitted, and his beard was ragged and twisted. But I knew instantly I was staring at Hephaestus. He gazed from the two bronze statues to where the eight of us were backing away and stepped towards us.

"Stand down," he commanded, in a voice like the rumbling of a volcano.

The statues immediately froze before stepping back onto their podiums, motionless once again a second later.

"My apologies," he said, as we all met up in front of the workshop. I noticed the Black Ranger stepping away from the group to keep a watchful eye on the streets around us. "Hera sent word you were coming, but I forgot to switch them off," Hephaestus explained.

"No apologies necessary," said the elder Blue Ranger, staring in wonder at the statues. "What brilliant designs."

Hephaestus smiled. "You have your machines, Rangers," he said. "And I have mine." His gaze fell onto me. "Ah! But you must be the boy! The poor mortal with the Skethani virus coursing through your veins," and he stepped closer to inspect me.

"We thought you might be able to help," said the White Ranger.

"Please?" I added.

The god allowed himself a slight smile, but as he looked me up and down, his expression faded. After a few minutes he stepped back, his face sombre. "I'm sorry Rangers. I wish there was something I could do for your friend, but I'm afraid the Skethani virus is beyond both my magic and my craftsmanship."

The Black Ranger looked to me. "It _was_ a long-shot," he said. I'm sure in his head, it sounded reassuring.

"Please," the Orange Ranger said. "Are you sure?"

Hephaestus appraised me with fresh eyes and stroked his beard. For a long time, we waited, silently hoping. Finally, his eyes narrowed and he turned to the White Ranger beside him.

"It's odd that Olympus was your first stop," he said. "Why didn't you take him back to your fabled Command Centre? The protections surrounding that fortress are exquisite. Zordon invited me there once to test them, and try as I might, I could not break into the building."

"We wanted to," explained the White Ranger. "But we couldn't risk it. According to legend, the virus is at least halfway self-aware."

The younger Blue Ranger nodded. "Everything that Tim sees and hears, the virus does as well," he said.

"So you couldn't risk taking the virus into your base?" Hephaestus surmised. "Good thinking Rangers. And I suddenly have the inkling of an idea. I don't think I can pull the virus _out_ of your young friend, but I may be able to keep it inside of him. For two and a half days at least," he added darkly.

"We'll take whatever you've got," said the Grey Ranger.

"Brontes and Steropes are running errands for me today," Hephaestus explained, "but my third assistant Pyracmon should be able to help me. Yes," and he snapped his fingers. "Give me an hour in the forge, and I may have something for you."

"Thank you," said the Orange Ranger. "We'll go back and wait with the others by Zeus and Hera's temple. C'mon guys," and as Hephaestus disappeared into his workshop, we walked away.

 _To be continued._


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's notes -_ Jokermask _, thanks. I had so much fun writing the gods, it was great. You know, they're just powerful beings (like Zordon or Rita or Sentinel Knight or Zedd) who aren't good or bad by default, they've got their own stuff to deal with. But they were characters where, the normal rules (of humanity, of polite conversation) just didn't apply, and that was a lot of fun. I just thought, if the Rangers_ had _to make a deal with an entire family of powerful beings, just to save one kid, they'd do it in a heart-beat._ Brankel _, thanks for the feedback! I'm happy you're liking the story._ _  
_

 _Teresa the White Ranger has a conversation with Tim, in this chapter, about how she's inspired by something her mother once said to her, but she still finds it hard to read people sometimes. That conversation continues into Teresa's own POV story_ Here to Help _, which I wrote a couple of years ago, but takes place a few months_ after _the events of_ The Impossible Boy.

 _Anyway, onto chapter five :)._

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

Far away from Olympus on a desert peak behind fortified stone walls, Alpha stepped back from his console and turned his gaze up to Zordon, who was watching over the Command Centre from inside his plasma tube.

"Aye-yi-yi Zordon!" Alpha began. "The computers have scanned almost every inch of Earth's surface, and they still can't find any trace of the Rangers! After they left the museum, the Rangers disappeared from our scanners completely."

Zordon frowned. "That is indeed troubling Alpha," he said. "I can guess why they didn't bring that poor boy back to the Command Centre, but if the Skethani virus has been awakened, we must re-establish communication." The interdimensional sage paused, deep in thought. "We know there were no off-world teleportation trails recently, so they must still be on Earth. I doubt they were captured, certainly not all twelve of them. There's simply no way they would've given up or abandoned the boy to his fate. And I would know if something dreadful had happened. We can rule that possibility out right now."

"They must be somewhere!" Alpha exclaimed. "Zordon, what if we retrace their steps?"

"A wise course of action," Zordon nodded. "Where did the computers lose them?"

"Just as they were approaching the Mediterranean Sea," Alpha replied.

Zordon paused. "Alpha," he began eventually, "there's only two or three places in Europe they could be where we wouldn't be able to find them. Knowing the Rangers as well as we do, we can assume they would've gone for help, but somewhere the boy would've been protected. And somewhere nobody would be in any danger." Zordon's voice trailed off, and he blinked. "Of course. Of course! Excellent work Rangers," and he allowed himself a proud smile. "Alpha, I know where the Rangers are. Set the computers to scan the atmosphere above the Greek isles. If anything enters Earth's orbit, we need to be the first to know about it."

"At once Zordon!"

"I need to figure out how to get a message to Olympus that can't be traced back here," he continued. "Oh, and Alpha? I want you in the zord holding bay as soon as possible. If I'm right, the Rangers are going to need our help."

* * *

My protection detail, currently consisting of half a dozen superheroes and an actual god, stuck close by as we walked through the quiet stone streets of Olympus. We soon reached the centre of the island and saw Zeus, Hera and the other six Rangers standing on the grass in a garden beside the temple. As we reunited, one of Hera's servants came forward to offer me a jug of sparkling water. I gratefully accepted a cup and took a sip. It was the coolest, freshest water I'd ever had, and I'll never forget the taste. It was strange, but not unpleasant. After I'd gulped it down, I was sure I wouldn't need anything to drink for days.

Thanking Hera for her hospitality, I quietly stepped away from the group as the gods and heroes continued discussing strategy. Keeping them in-sight, but staying far enough away so I wouldn't overhear them, I made my way over to the other end of the garden, where I found a shadowy tree and sat down on the grass, leaning back against the trunk. I watched as the Rangers shared information, passing on what had happened at Hephaestus's workshop. From their body language, the Rangers who'd remained here hadn't come up with any new ideas. I saw several of them gesturing around in frustration, which meant that, for the moment at least, we had nowhere else to go.

But while I was watching the Rangers, I couldn't stop thinking about them. According to the best guesses of the press, the Rangers were a bunch of high school students like me. But that didn't fit somehow. They seemed so much older than that, like this was all just part of the day for them. Looking at their featureless visors, I studied the silver mouthplates set with stern expressions, and I wondered what they looked like under their helmets. What colour were their eyes? What colour was their hair? Were they handsome and attractive like Eros and Hera, or were their faces scarred and battle-damaged like Hephaestus? If I ever met them unmorphed, would I even be able to tell they were superheroes?

The Red Ranger seemed to lead the group, and although I could see how the rest of the team looked to him for guidance, he kept deferring to the Orange and the two Blue Rangers. It seemed like the Aqua Ranger kept trying to diffuse the situation, while the Pink and Grey Rangers never stopped gazing around in wonder at the city behind us. The softly-spoken Yellow Ranger looked like she was the team's liaison to the gods, while I watched as the younger of the two Blue Rangers stood between the girl White Ranger and the gods, with his arms raised protectively. Leaning in close to her helmet, he had a quiet word and stepped away.

My face fell. No, it couldn't be that simple, could it?

Across the garden, the younger Blue Ranger made his way over to a small pavilion and sat down on the stone bench.

"Hey Scott, wait up," called Eros.

Scott nodded a greeting as Eros approached. "Sorry, I just needed some space to clear my head," he replied. "It's been a big day. Thanks again for everything, particularly your help with Tim. We'd be in a lot of trouble without you."

"It's what friends are for," Eros said, and he sat down beside the young hero. Then, with all the tact of a god, Eros smiled. "Have you told them yet?"

Scott turned, startled, then sighed. "How did you know?"

Eros flapped his wings. "Dude, it's me."

"I should've figured," Scott said. "I know I should. I just hate feeling like I'm supposed to. It's complicated, that's all." He looked away. "That sounds stupid, right?"

"Not at all," Eros replied. "For all the thousands of years I've spent watching you mortals, there's one thing I've seen you all get very good at. And that's making simple things complicated. If you ever need to talk, you know I'm here, right?"

"I know," Scott said. "Thanks."

Eros hesitated a second longer, then put one of his arms around Scott's shoulders and pulled the Blue Ranger close for a hug.

Wondering what they were talking about, I heard footsteps behind me and looked up to see the girl White Ranger sit down beside me.

"I know this is probably a silly question," she began, "but how are you?"

"I've had better days," I said. "But I'm trying really hard not to burst into tears. You know, again," and I indicated the palace behind us. "Although this is definitely a day for the books."

"This isn't exactly a normal day for us either," she admitted.

"Really?" I asked. "Then why do all this? You guys just cut a deal with an entire pantheon of gods, like it's something that happens to you every day. Isn't this way above the call of duty?"

"The call of duty is helping people, above all else," she replied. "Like my mother once told me, it's what we're here to do."

"But you can't save everybody," I said.

"Maybe not, but the day we believe that is the day we'll stop trying," she said. "You're right though, it's not always easy. Even with all these years of being a Ranger under my belt, it's still hard to read people sometimes." But it felt like she'd revealed too much of herself, and before I could reply, she changed the subject. "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"You know the hardest part about being a Ranger in those first few months?" she began. "It wasn't the monsters or the aliens we had to fight. That part was easy. It was the feeling that even with all these skills suddenly in my head, and all this responsibility on my shoulders, that I was gonna make a mistake. Do something wrong in front of the senior team. At that point, they'd been doing this a lot longer than me. I worried about that for a long time."

"So what changed?" I asked.

"I did," she replied. "After a while, I realised that maybe I was meant to have this coin. I think sometimes you have to trust that the Universe knows what it's doing, even if it doesn't seem like it." She gestured to the huddle of gods nearby. "They move in mysterious ways, after all."

I laughed, then my face fell. "Back at the museum, you said you guys could fix this," I began, and pointed at my chest. "Do you really think you can?"

"Absolutely I do," the White Ranger replied, and I could hear the honesty in her voice. "Do you?"

"I'm not sure," I said. "But I want to." I glanced over to where the Red and Orange Rangers were standing beside each other. "Can I ask _you_ something? The Red and Orange Rangers, are they dating? It's just a vibe I get. Like, it's okay if they are. My best friend back home leans that way, I think, although he's never told me."

The White Ranger paused for a second and then doubled over laughing. "I'm sorry," she said, fighting for breath. "No, they're not dating. Although they do tend to leave that impression, yes."

"Then let me try again," I said, and pointed to the younger Blue Ranger over with Eros. "The Blue Ranger is your older brother, right?"

The White Ranger stopped giggling and replied before she could stop herself. "How did you know?" she asked.

"When he was talking to you before," I began. "The way he was standing was exactly how I used to act around my little sister." But at the thought of my family, somewhere far below with no clue where I was, I felt tears forming in my eyes. "Damn it."

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I'm just thinking about my family. I might never see them again, and all I can think of is all the horrible, stupid things I did and said to them. Is that how they're gonna remember me? As this awful person who hurt them?"

"Of course not," the White Ranger replied. "Look at the Olympians. Family might not be perfect, but it is what it is."

"I hope so," I sniffled. "I just want to see them again and tell them all the stuff I never thought to say."

The White Ranger sat back thoughtfully and then stood up. "Don't go anywhere," she said. Leaving me by the tree, she jogged back over to her team-mates. Approaching the group, she lowered her voice. "Hey guys," she said.

"Hi Teresa," Peter said, and the Orange Ranger nodded to where I was sitting under the tree. "How's he holding up?"

"Not great, but that's to be expected," Teresa replied. "Not with the ticking clock hanging over him."

Jason shook his head. "I was talking to him in the museum before Automica attacked," he said. "He's a good kid. He's smart, too. Smarter than he thinks he is."

"Well he just mentioned something we haven't even thought about," Teresa said. "He's got two parents and a sister back at the museum waiting for him. They still don't know what's happened to him."

"I've considered that, but we can't tell them," Jason replied. "As cruel as it is, they need to stay out of the loop. Automica knows that Tim's with us. If we contact Tim's family, we're putting them in danger. Automica would probably try to kidnap them and force Tim out of hiding. We can't risk it."

"I know that not contacting Tim's family is keeping them safe," Teresa said. "But has anybody told _them_ that? In a couple of hours, everyone at the museum will have been accounted for, everyone except for Tim. His family are gonna be desperately trying to find out what happened to him. Assuming that Automica knows Tim's with us, then even a quick glance at the local media is gonna tell her exactly who his family are."

"And that'll put them right in harm's way," Trini realised.

"Damn it," Tommy swore. "We gotta do something."

"But from here?" asked Sarah. "How?"

"I don't know," Jason said. "And I hate that. This whole day, all we've done so far is bounce between options that we _don't_ have. We need to..."

"Rangers!" came a shout, and everybody turned to see Hephaestus hurrying down the street towards us. I stepped over to join the group of heroes and gods. But as Hephaestus reached us, my heart leaped. He was carrying something in his hand.

"Were you able to come up with anything?" asked the Pink Ranger.

"It took longer than I anticipated," Hephaestus began, "but I was able to forge something that may help. Here," and he held out his hand. In his palm was a small golden bracelet. I could tell just by looking at it that it was the perfect size for my wrist, even though he hadn't measured me. There was writing on the bracelet I couldn't read alongside odd, curling symbols.

"It's beautiful," I breathed, and held out my arm. "Will it help?"

"It should," the god replied, and he fastened the bracelet around my wrist. "The metal I used has mystical properties. Combined with the charms inscribed onto the band, the bracelet will keep the virus deaf and blind. It won't stop the virus from charging, unfortunately, but it will no longer be able to see out of Tim's eyes, or hear out of Tim's ears." He stepped back. "Some of my finest work in decades," he beamed proudly.

"This is brilliant," said the Red Ranger. "This could end up being critical."

"Thank you," the younger Blue White Ranger added. "We appreciate it more than you know."

"I was glad to be of assistance," the god replied. "But I caution you against being too generous with your praise. While I was forging the bracelet, I consulted with my priests and oracles. The mechanics of the virus are not of this world. We could find no information on any plane of existence beyond what you already know. It seems there is simply no way to remove the Skethani virus without triggering the virus or killing the host. I've helped you as much as I can, Rangers, but I'm sorry. There's just no way to save the boy's life."

"That's what everybody keeps telling us," replied the Purple Ranger grimly.

"Doesn't mean we're not gonna try," said the Orange Ranger.

Hephaestus smiled. "It's what I like best about you mortals," he replied. "In any event, I wish you the best of fortune. I think the clues to this puzzle lie off-world."

"I'm beginning to suspect that myself," said the elder Blue Ranger.

Without warning, the air a few metres away began to shimmer. As we all fell silent, a jagged tear appeared in midair, as if torn in half by a pair of invisible hands. An arrow shot through the tear and buried itself in the grass before us with a soft 'thunk'. Seconds later, the rift faded away, gone as mysteriously as it appeared.

"What the hell was that?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"That was a dimensional rift," the younger Blue Ranger replied. "I'd recognise one of those anywhere. It was small and concentrated, and..."

"And there's an arrow sticking out of my lawn," growled Hera, her eyes flashing.

"Who could've done that?" Hephaestus asked.

The Red Ranger reached for the arrow. Wary of Hera's gaze, he carefully pried it loose. "It couldn't have been aimed for us," he said.

"Yeah," agreed the Black Ranger. "None of our enemies would be firing _arrows_ at us."

"It would've taken a tremendous amount of power to open such a doorway here to the centre of Olympus," Zeus rumbled.

"Wait, look," said the Pink Ranger, pointing to the arrow. "There's a note tied to the shaft!" She took the arrow from the Red Ranger and untied the note. "Hey, it's from Zordon," she said. "Bad news guys, listen to this. 'Rangers, your cover is blown'," and we glanced around fearfully. "There's more," the Pink Ranger continued. "It says, 'We've just detected a fleet of star craft emerging from deep space and heading straight for Olympus. You need to evacuate immediately. Our scans identified them as skullships'." She let the note fall from her hands. "That is _so_ not good."

"Wait, fill me in," I said. "What's a skullship? What does that mean? Is that the priestess Automica?"

"No," replied the Purple Ranger. "It's somebody a whole lot worse."

"It means General Skull is coming for the Skethani virus," explained the girl White Ranger. "General Skull is an undead soldier from a war nobody even remembers who didn't let his own death stop him from fighting. We don't know whether he uses magic or some kind of super-science, but he commands a legion of undead soldiers. We've dealt with him before. He thinks of himself as the personification of death."

"We know Death," bristled Hera indignantly. "This pathetic aberration is nothing more than a pale insult."

"So you're telling me that not only do I have a psychotic robot after me," I began, "but I'm also being hunted by an army of zombies from outer space?"

"Essentially," replied the Orange Ranger.

"This is officially, like, the worst day ever," I said.

"Would Skull be working with Automica?" asked the Yellow Ranger.

"I doubt it," replied the male White Ranger. "Let's be honest. Neither of them plays well with others."

" _Guys_ ," said Eros suddenly, and pointed to the sky. "They're here! I can see the advance ship. It's just passing the moon!"

We all turned to look. If I squinted my eyes, I could _just_ make out a tiny black dot in front of the moon that was hanging low in the sky.

"Eros, send them a message," said Hephaestus.

Eros pulled an arrow from his quiver and loaded it into his bow in one smooth motion. Taking barely a second to aim, he released the string. The arrow shot away into the sky, moving impossibly-fast and instantly vanishing from sight.

"Oh c'mon," I said, and pointed to the moon. "That's almost four hundred thousand kilometres away! There's no way you could..." But even as I spoke, the little black dot in the sky disappeared in a flash, soon replaced by a tiny puff of smoke. My jaw dropped. Speechless, I turned back to Eros.

He tapped his bow. "It never misses," he grinned, then flapped his wings. "Besides, archery's kinda my thing."

"Show-off," muttered the Pink Ranger.

"Amateur," Eros shot back, then turned to the Red and Orange Rangers. "I'm feeling particularly chatty today. Would you like me to send them more messages?"

The Red Ranger shook his head. "As fun as that would be, no," he replied. "Remember when you told us you can make yourself mortal and walk amongst people undetected?" Eros lowered his bow and nodded. "We need you to get a message to Tim's family, telling them that Tim's with us and they need to lie low. Otherwise..."

"They'll be making targets of themselves," Eros said. "Got it. They'll still be at the museum, right?" I nodded. "They'll be safe," and he met my gaze. "I promise." With that, Eros vanished in a flash of light.

Once he was gone, Hera wheeled to face us, displeasure etched across her stern expression. "Well done Rangers," she snapped. "You brought this right to our doorstep. However can we thank you? Hephaestus, go ready your machines. I daresay we will need them."

"At once," Hephaestus said, and dashed away.

"We're sorry," said the Orange Ranger. "We didn't mean to cause you any trouble. And since our cover's blown, I think our next move..."

"... is to get the hell out of here," finished the Aqua Ranger.

"You said it," agreed the Pink Ranger, and raised her arm to the sky. "We need Phoenix thunder zord power, now!"

 _To be continued._


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's notes - This chapter is probably one of my favourites, and I think you'll see why. Two chapters ago, the Rangers were incredibly nervous at the thought of having to deal with the Olympians, but they managed to smooth out any issues with diplomacy. But this was an important chapter, because here, you see firsthand exactly_ why _the Rangers were so nervous ... :). In my series, the Rangers also often travel in their zords, if they need a mobile base of operations because it's impractical (or bad strategically) to return to the Command Centre. I also write it so they can summon their weapons with a_ thought _. I always figured, the more they use their powers, the more connected they'd become to them. So eventually the team reaches a point where they don't need the vocal commands anymore, they can just think about their weapons and summon them straight to them. This also makes the story flow better, when you don't have to stop and add all the phrases and calls the Rangers use mid-battle. And it's more badass.  
_

 _With that out of the way, enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

With a flash of lightning and a crack of thunder, the mighty Phoenix zord soared over our heads, its massive pink body and long golden tail gleaming in the sun. But rather than land beside us, the zord circled the city in a wide arc before descending in a clearing on the city's outskirts, close to the edge of the island.

"Not to sound ungrateful," I began, "but you couldn't have maybe landed her a little bit closer?"

The Pink Ranger shrugged. "She normally does," she said. "I don't know why she didn't."

"Olympus's own magic is interfering with the connection to your chariot," Zeus explained, looking for all the world like he was fighting the urge to roll his eyes. "We could've told you, had you bothered asking. It's miraculous your beast even heard you at all."

"We call them and they come to us," the male White Ranger said irritably. "It's kind of how it works."

"So we'll have to make a run for it," said the Red Ranger. "All of us, together, protecting Tim. I'm assuming we can't just teleport there?"

"I'd advise _against_ trying," said Hera sharply.

"We can make it if we run," said the younger Blue Ranger.

"No, we can't," said the Grey Ranger, and everybody turned to him. But he was looking at the sky and we immediately saw why. "They're here!"

Above our heads, at least a dozen spaceships had made their way through the atmosphere and were flying in a loose formation straight towards us. While Automica's ship had been shiny and silver with perfectly rounded lines, these ships were almost completely black, apart from the grinning grey skulls that adorned the front of every vessel. There was no conformity to the fleet. Some of the ships seemed quite small, while others were the size of mountains. But every single ship looked like it had been stitched and patched together from the broken remains of twenty other ships, and all of them were bristling with weaponry.

"Space zombies," I murmured. "You guys weren't kidding."

Standing nearby, Zeus looked to the attacking fleet, and I watched his face turn purple with rage. "They actually think to attack Olympus directly?" he asked, as if he couldn't quite grasp the concept. But I realised that, for the first time today, he was angrier at them than us.

"That looks like the general idea," said the Orange Ranger.

"It only looks like about twenty ships," the Aqua Ranger said. "It must be their first wave."

"Well then," Zeus announced, standing to his full height and towering over the Rangers. Arcs of electricity began to crackle around him, and I noticed the wind had picked up. "Let's discourage a second wave, shall we?"

The Rangers scattered, diving to safety and covering their heads. The Purple Ranger leaped towards me, dragging me to the ground and flattening me against the grass to keep my head low. Against my better judgement, I looked up anyway.

As the wind began howling and the hairs on my arms stood on end, Zeus raised his hands. I could see the power flowing between them, but it was so bright it hurt my eyes. With an angry roar, the king of the gods aimed a blast straight for the oncoming ships. Lightning exploded from his hands, lighting up the sky and tearing through the skullships, ripping them to pieces in midair. Stray bolts crackled back through the city, shattering buildings and splitting giant trees in half. Still the onslaught continued, white-hot fingers of electricity carving through the enemy ships as if they were nothing. Finally, Zeus lowered his arms and stepped back.

Every single one of the skullships had been incinerated. There wasn't even any debris, just clouds of black smoke.

 _Holy crap_.

The Rangers and I climbed to our feet. Most of the garden around us hadn't survived. I was about to say something when a blast whistled over our heads and slammed into a nearby palace. Zeus growled with annoyance and returned fire with another thunderbolt. Even as we ducked for cover, more and more skullships began appearing in the skies above us.

"He's never had this many before," said the Yellow Ranger.

"I guess he really wants the virus," said the Grey Ranger.

"We've gotta move!" shouted the Red Ranger. "Hera, come with us. Please protect Tim, at least until we get him onboard the Phoenix!"

Hera gazed around at the destruction on all sides. "Anything to be rid of you!" she fumed.

"Zeus?" began the Orange Ranger, but Zeus cut him off.

"I'll stay here and draw their fire," Zeus said. "I'll keep their attention as long as I can!"

"Then go!" said the Red Ranger.

We raced away, sprinting down the street towards the Phoenix zord in the distance. But as we ran, zombies began beaming down from the hovering skullships and materialising on the street around us. Two undead soldiers lumbered towards us from a side street, but the Pink Ranger summoned her Power Bow and destroyed them. As we continued, more and more of them approached, holding their rusty weapons high. The Yellow Ranger summoned her Power Daggers as several closed in, blocking a wide swing and reducing a zombie to dust with a powerful kick, while the Orange Ranger used his Power Sword to fend off two more. Moving with terrifying speed, another zombie appeared between two temples and leaped towards me, but the younger Blue Ranger struck the soldier out of the air with his Power Staff and quickly disabled the zombie while it was on the ground.

In the distance, I saw something alien with clawed tentacles crawl out of the shadows between two palaces. "That doesn't look like a zombie!" I shouted.

Beside me, the Purple Ranger smashed an enemy away with her Power Mace, slamming the creature back through the wall of a temple. "That's the problem with General Skull," she said. "His troops aren't just made up of people who died. If any creature from anywhere in the Universe has lived and died, then Skull can recruit them against their will into his army."

"So they're not the kind of zombies who'll just come back to life when you beat their boss?" I asked.

The Red Ranger stared at me with surprise. "No, unfortunately for them but fortunately for us," he said. "They're just empty shells."

"They're no less dangerous though," added the girl White Ranger.

Running beside Hera, I glanced to the garden we were passing and saw the ground cracking open. I thought of all the different monsters from Greek mythology that had died thanks to a long line of heroes and gods.

 _Oh crap_.

"We need to get out of here," I said quickly. "Like right now."

"You ain't wrong," agreed the younger Blue Ranger.

But the group suddenly came to a stop. The Rangers stepped in front of Hera and I to form a defensive wall, and I looked ahead as footsteps began echoing off the stone tiles. Ahead of us, a figure wearing black leather and a red cap had emerged from the shadows between two palaces. With every step, the grass under his boots withered and died. His chest was adorned with a dozen medals and awards of different colours. The figure's head was a grinning skull, with traces of skin and muscle still visible. His eye sockets were sickeningly empty but for a black fire. When he spoke, it was with a voice as cold and hard as a gravestone.

"Do you know the one constant of the Universe, Rangers?" General Skull asked. "Even stars _die._ "

The elder White Ranger stepped forward as a troop of long-dead soldiers joined General Skull. "Guys, go!" the White Ranger said. "Get to the Phoenix! I got this!"

"No," said the Grey Ranger. In a flash of light, he was holding his silver Power Blasters. "We've got this," and he joined the White Ranger.

"Now now boys," Skull growled, and lurched towards them. Behind the Grey and White Rangers, the rest of us edged to the side. "My face has a curious habit," Skull continued, paying the rest of us no attention as he focused on the White and Grey Rangers. "When people see me, they become refreshingly honest. So let me ask you something. Are you afraid?"

The ground beneath them cracked open as skeletal fingers clawed to the surface and pulled themselves free. Checking that the rest of the group were far enough away so he wouldn't be overheard, Tommy lowered his voice. "Yes."

Skull tilted his head, pleased with the answer. His skeletal grin seemed wider, though no less humourless. "Good," he said. "You should be."

The crowd of zombies attacked, surging past the general. Tommy leaped into the air with a spinning kick, taking a zombie's head off its shoulders. As he landed, Saba was in his hand, and he reduced another zombie to dust with a powerful slice. Beside him, Ian aimed his blasters and fired, punching through several of their enemies and instantly destroying them.

The rest of the troops held back uncertainly, and Tommy turned to face Skull. "You're not getting it," he said. "Nobody here is scared of _you_. You're a rotting corpse with delusions of grandeur. What worries me is that when I take you apart one piece at a time, I'm scared that I'm _really_ going to enjoy it." With a movement so fast Skull didn't even see it, Tommy was suddenly holding the bladed end of Saba to Skull's face. "You've cheated death so many times, General Skull. I wonder what secrets _you'll_ tell him, when he finally catches up to you. _Let's find out._ "

With a wild battle yell, Tommy swung Saba straight for General Skull's head. The zombie ducked back a step, and the blade missed him by millimetres. Skull reached for the blaster at his side, but Tommy struck his hand away and launched the zombie back with a blow to the chest, before carving Saba back towards him. The blade sliced through Skull's jacket as he stumbled back, and before Skull could recover, Tommy took to the air with a spinning jump kick, slamming the zombie general off his feet. Finding his footing as Skull rolled to a stop, Tommy raced forward to continue the battle.

A few metres away, the zombie horde closed in around the two Rangers as Tommy continued trading blows with General Skull. Holding his ground, Ian swept his blasters in a wide arc, reducing the entire troop to dust. He heard a roar behind him as something ancient clawed to the surface, and he ducked instinctively as a giant fist swung towards him. Spinning around, the Grey Ranger blasted the beast off its feet, before taking out two more zombies on either side. He turned to the rest of the army in time to see one of Skull's lieutenants take aim with an enormous cannon. Ian took to the air as the ground erupted behind him him, aiming his blasters while upside down and slicing the lieutenant in half, before spinning the guns around him as he touched down and wiping out an entire crowd.

One of Skull's ships suddenly appeared above them. "Kill them!" Skull commanded, and the ship's cannons roared to life.

"Watch out!" Tommy shouted, and they leaped to safety. "We can't fight this many! Get to the Phoenix!"

"You got it!" Ian replied.

With blasts whistling over our heads and buildings being levelled all around, the rest of us continued across Olympus towards the safety of the Phoenix zord. In what I assumed was a well-rehearsed defensive routine, the Rangers continued to keep a circle around Hera and I, battling their way forward through an ever-increasing number of undead opponents and making ground with every step.

Out in front, I watched the Red and Orange Rangers clash swords with a legion of revived ancient warriors. To my left, the two Blue Rangers were fighting some horrible alien _thing_ with horns over its body and clicking claws, while on the right, the Black Ranger was trading blows with a monstrous undead minotaur. As I ran, a zombie harpy swooped down out of the smoke. Before I could scream, the girl White Ranger wrapped her whip around the creature's body and flung it into a nearby statue, shattering the sculpture to dust. More undead harpies began appearing above us, but the Pink Ranger took aim with her Power Bow and shot them out of the air. My heart was pounding in my chest, and there was so much noise from the battle and from the palaces being destroyed on all sides that I could barely hear myself think.

We made it past a street of temples, and the terrain opened up before us into a wide grassy field. The Phoenix zord sat on the other side, and I wondered why the Rangers had stopped. But glancing ahead, I realised the park had no cover to shield us from the growing legion of zombies appearing around us. We'd be sitting ducks.

"We're gonna need to run for it!" shouted the Orange Ranger. "If we..."

"Watch out!" screamed the Pink Ranger. One of Skull's ships appeared above us, emerging from a cloud of smoke and firing a broadside. Everyone dived to safety, and the air ignited as a massive explosion shook the nearby temples. The force of the blast threw me clear of the heroes. I rolled down a grassy embankment, tumbling out-of-control before crashing in a heap at the bottom. Panting and dazed, with every part of me hurting, I took a minute to find my bearings, then shakily stood up and looked around.

None of the Rangers were in sight.

Even as I stood frozen in terror, more and more black-clad zombies were appearing out of the haze. I glanced around, frantically looking for somewhere to run, but they'd already formed a wall around me.

There was no escape.

"Rangers!" I shouted desperately. "Help! I'm over here!"

"The nerve of these abhorrent creatures," came a voice, and I turned to see Hera gliding towards me. She reached my side and I clutched fearfully at her arm as the zombies closed in. "Take heart, dear boy," Hera chuckled softly, and I suddenly realised her eyes were glowing. She smiled kindly. "Do you honestly believe that my husband and his thunderbolts are the only protection Olympus has?"

The queen of the gods snapped her gaze towards the zombies in front of us. "Be gone," she commanded, fury in her voice. An invisible hand struck away the wall of creatures and slammed them into the ground with such force they immediately disintegrated. Hera spun to face the zombies on the left, and a stone column from a nearby temple ripped free and crashed towards them, instantly scattering them. The unsupported roof of the temple shook, and with a gesture from Hera, the stone ceiling spun through the air and smashed into the crowd of zombies on our right with an almighty crash.

Keeping me close, Hera turned to the remaining few zombies, who were now edging back. Hera's eyes flashed, and the ground beneath them was ripped open as two enormous serpents rose from the depths. Before the zombies could move, the snakes wrapped themselves around the undead soldiers and began tearing them apart.

"I do prefer serpents," Hera nodded. "It's the personal touch."

I couldn't respond, leaning down and throwing up.

Everything I'd eaten since I was eight.

Hera watched me with amusement as I wiped my face clean. "Come now boy, your friends are waiting for you," she said. Taking my hand, she half-led and half-dragged me to the top of the embankment, where the Purple Ranger suddenly appeared.

"C'mon!" the Ranger shouted.

Hera and I reached the top of the slope and gazed around at the battle before us. Everywhere we looked, the Rangers were carving their way through the zombie hordes towards the giant Phoenix. Several of the Rangers were already close. Even as I watched, a hatch under the zord's golden tail swung open, and a ramp lowered itself to the ground. The Rangers raced up the ramp and disappeared inside. A second later, the zord's eyes glowed yellow, and panels along the zord's hull slid open to reveal a devastating array of cannons and missiles. They fired with a roar, taking out a number of hovering skullships.

"We have cover," Hera said. " _Move_."

Seeing me, a crowd of zombies charged towards us, but Hera launched them into the air with a wave of her hand. A few metres away, the Purple Ranger was trading blows with a giant four-armed warrior, when he blocked her mace and threw her to the ground. Seeing one of the Rangers overwhelmed, half a dozen more zombies closed in.

"Look out!" I shouted. Reaching for the only weapon I could see, I grabbed a cannon one of the zombies had dropped before and threw it towards her. The Purple Ranger caught the weapon and spun it around her, aiming for the four-armed zombie and launching him backwards. Leaping to her feet, she continued firing, wiping out the rest of the crowd and using the cannon to bludgeon the last zombie who'd gotten too close.

"Thanks!" she called, and the three of us raced away.

We were soon joined by the White and Grey Rangers who'd managed to catch up with us. With a powerful protector on every side, I crossed the battlefield safely and soon reached the entry ramp to the magnificent zord. There were a lot less zombies attacking, and glancing into the zord's interior, I saw most of the Rangers already onboard. I stepped onto the ramp and then looked back to the queen of the gods behind me.

"I, uh, I don't know how to thank you," I said quickly, as the Rangers beside me continued blasting at onrushing opponents.

I must've caught Hera by surprise, because she smiled. "Once the Rangers return you to your parents," she said calmly, "find your mother and tell her that you care for her deeply. That will be sufficient payment enough."

"You're sure?" I asked. "I don't think there are any Greek temples near my house, but I think there's a Baptist Church somewhere in town."

Hera laughed softly. "That is spirituality, my dear boy, and not what my family represents," she replied. "Surely you're smart enough to have realised the difference? Oh, but next time?" and she gestured around the devastated park. "Tell your friends to knock on Asgard's door and bother Odin instead." But she leaned in close and pressed a kiss against my cheek. "Be safe," she said, before stepping away and continuing to destroy zombies with ridiculous ease.

I watched her go then raced up the ramp, only to hit an invisible wall barring the entrance. "I can't get in!" I shouted.

The younger Blue Ranger stepped outside. "The zords are protected," he said. "You can't enter unless you have one of these," and he tapped the golden coin at his belt. "Take my hand!"

I reached for his gloved hand. Holding on tight, he pulled me into the zord with no problem. Following a narrow corridor, the interior of the zord opened up around me. The cabin had a dozen high-backed seats up front, with computer screens, work benches and equipment lockers against the walls. Behind me in the back corner I could see several smaller rooms, with bunk beds visible through one of the doors. Directly in front of me, another narrow corridor led to the zord's cockpit.

Behind me, the Purple, White and Grey Rangers raced into the cabin to join us. The Red Ranger scanned the room. "Yellow and Pink in the cockpit," he said aloud, "and everyone else inside." He banged his hand against the wall. "Let's go!"

With that, the ramp pulled back into the zord's fuselage and the hatch slammed shut. The Grey Ranger pushed past me into the zord's cockpit, while everybody else scrambled to find a seat. I let the younger Blue Ranger guide me into the nearest chair and buckle me in.

"I wish the gods could come with us," I said.

"They're only _this_ strong here on Olympus," the Red Ranger replied. "They're a lot less powerful down there," and he pointed to the ground far below. "On another planet? It wouldn't even be worth asking."

With a sudden lurch, the zord lifted off. The monitors on either side of the cabin flashed to life, showing the skies around us. The view was so crisp, I would've sworn they were windows. As the Phoenix zord left Mount Olympus behind it, the sky around us was black with hovering skullships. As one, they turned to us and opened fire. But the Phoenix zord was too fast and flew straight up out of range. More barrages streaked towards us, but the zord banked sharply before returning fire. Even as I watched, bolts of lightning were arcing up from Olympus, reducing a dozen more ships to cinders. All around us, the pale blue sky was growing darker. Stars began appearing in the distance. Finally, as the zord shot up into the heavens, the atmosphere disappeared, replaced by the black forever of space and the wide vista of a billion stars.

I sat back and let out a sigh of relief.

We'd made it into orbit.

We were safe.

 _To be continued._


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's notes - I hope everybody enjoyed the Greek gods fighting a legion of alien zombies :). Here's another breather chapter before we rush onwards :). For short-term readers, this chapter gave me the chance to answer some questions (by way of the Rangers explaining to Tim) about how the zords work, why there are human beings on planets other than Earth, and why the Rangers' teleportation is sometimes the_ worse _way to travel. Also for readers who've been paying attention, you'll remember how our poor impossible boy Tim shared a quiet moment with an unmorphed Jason back in the museum, and then had quiet conversations with both Billy and Teresa while on Olympus. In this chapter, he has the chance to connect with two more characters, and it's a trend that will continue for the rest of the story._

 _Enjoy :)._

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

In the cockpit, Ian and Trini stood on either side of Kimberly as she guided the zord further away from Earth. Setting the autopilot, the Pink Ranger looked over her shoulder. "I'm actually kind of glad to be leaving Olympus," she said. "Before we left, Zeus totally asked me whether I was doing anything later. I respectfully but firmly told him that I'd be busy."

Trini nodded. "Don't worry, he said that to me too," she said.

"Yeah, me three," Ian added.

Both Rangers turned to him wordlessly.

"What?" Ian asked. "I would've said no either way. But it's nice to know you've got options."

Back in the cabin, I gazed around in wonder at the interior of one of the Rangers' fabled giant robots. Everything was clean and sparse, and I couldn't stop wondering how many people had seen the inside of this vehicle. Probably not that many. Across the room, the Red, Orange and both White Rangers huddled together having a hushed conversation that was too quiet for me to hear. Outside, the moon hung suspended in space nearby, a lot larger than it always was back on Earth, while the stars were so much brighter. But planet Earth was behind us. Try as I might, I couldn't see it.

The younger Blue Ranger turned to me. "You okay?" he asked.

"Are we safe up here?" I asked.

"Aside from the fleet of alien zombies chasing us?" replied the Aqua Ranger, sitting in front of me.

"The protection around our zords that you ran into before?" the younger Blue Ranger began. "It stops anything from teleporting inside. Unfortunately, the physical barrier only works on living biological beings, so it won't stop General Skull."

"Or Automica, actually," added the Purple Ranger, two seats away.

I frowned. "You guys are really glass half-full, aren't you?"

"To actually board us, they'd have to physically bring the zord down," said the elder Blue Ranger.

"And good luck with that," finished the Aqua Ranger.

"But still," I continued, and waved my arms around the cabin. "I've never been in space before. Is this normal? Why am I not floating?"

The younger Blue Ranger unclasped his seat buckle and stood up. He gestured for me to do the same, and I climbed out of my seat to join him. It felt like being back on Earth. "Whoa," I murmured.

"The zords are designed to keep people safe," the younger Blue Ranger explained. "We've got artificial gravity and generators to keep our air clean. There's food and supplies, and a bathroom down the back in case you need it." He leaned in close. "You've still got a little vomit on your chin, there."

I laughed and wiped it off. "Great," I said. "But we've still got robots and zombies after us. What do we do now?"

The other Rangers returned from their conference in the corner. "That's an excellent question," said the Red Ranger.

From beside one of the lockers, the Aqua Ranger suddenly raised his voice. "Hey guys, check it out!" he shouted. Everyone turned to him as he pulled a small black box out of the locker. "Message from home!"

The Grey, Pink and Yellow Rangers stepped into the cabin. "What's going on?" asked the Pink Ranger.

"Shh!" hissed the Aqua Ranger. Sliding the device onto a bench, he pressed a blinking red button on the side of the box. The air above the bench shimmered, and a hologram of a blue face appeared before us.

"Zordon?" asked the female White Ranger.

"Rangers," spoke the face, who I immediately guessed was the team's mentor Zordon. "I'm glad you found this pre-recorded message. I trust you and your guest are safe, at least for the moment. Alpha and I realised the reason you didn't retreat to the Command Centre after the museum, and why you took refuge on Mount Olympus. That was a brilliant idea, Rangers. We also assumed your next move would be to summon one of your zords. As such, we left these recordings in each of the four space-capable zords. But if I know you well, I assume this is reaching you inside the Phoenix."

"Man," breathed the Pink Ranger. "He is good."

"As such, the Phoenix thunder zord has been restocked with all the supplies and equipment you and your friend will need," Zordon continued. "Our enemies have realised that you have the Skethani virus with you, Rangers. They will be monitoring the Command Centre closely. Any communication between us from this point on will lead right to you. To that end, I'm afraid you're on your own. There's too much at stake. However, along with this recording," and we watched as the Aqua Ranger reached into the locker and pulled free a stack of files and folders, "we've included every piece of information we have regarding the Skethani virus. Differentiating between legend and scientific fact was not easy, but as far as we could determine, the origins of the virus lie in the clockwork city of Chronopolis on the planet Dhalia."

"What's a clockwork city?" I asked.

The elder Blue Ranger clasped his hands together. "Somewhere fascinating," he said.

"I dare say that any further clues to unravelling the virus will be waiting for you in Chronopolis," Zordon finished. "Good luck Rangers. Be aware, the clock is ticking. With every passing minute, our enemies will only multiply. Stay safe, and return to us. May the power protect you, all of you, including your young friend. Goodbye Rangers," and the hologram flickered and faded away.

The Red Ranger glanced around the zord. "It looks like we've got our next destination," he said. "Let's go."

"Can't we just, like, teleport there or something?" I asked.

The elder Blue Ranger shook his head. "Teleportation _is_ much faster, yes, but the risks are too numerous to mention," he replied.

"Because of the distance between planets," the younger Blue Ranger explained, "we could scatter and be separated, or wind up hundreds of kilometres off-course. It might be slower, but it's a lot safer doing it the old fashioned way."

"Besides," the Yellow Ranger continued, "teleporting takes a lot of energy, and it's really easy to track. We can't risk it, not today."

The Pink Ranger headed back into the cockpit as an alarm sounded. "And not before time," she called. "The skullships just locked onto us."

"But another planet?" I asked. "How long is this gonna take?"

"The thunder zords are some of the fastest ships in the galaxy," the Orange Ranger said. "We'll be there in, what, eleven or twelve hours?"

"Everyone strap in!" called the Pink Ranger. The twelve of us back in the cabin scrambled into our seats and I clasped my seat buckles shut. I'd never travelled faster than the speed of light before, but I was beginning to realise this was part of being a Ranger.

Sit down and hold on.

I glanced around nervously. There was suddenly an almighty roar, and the zord surged forward. The stars in the viewing screens flickered and blurred for a few seconds then returned to normal, showing what I guessed was a simple star map, rather than the view of constellations flashing past us in a dizzying blur. Now we were travelling, the Rangers stood up and walked around to stretch their legs. Watching them for a few minutes, I noticed the male White Ranger in the back corner, standing by himself. Feeling guilty at everything the Rangers had gone through today just for me, I stood up and walked over.

"Hey," I said awkwardly.

He turned to me. "How you holding up?" he asked.

"Survived the army of zombies in one piece," I replied. I held up my wrist and tapped the bracelet Hephaestus had forged. It made the strangest noise. "And the bracelet seems to be doing what it's supposed to be doing."

The White Ranger nodded. "We'll be at our next destination soon enough," he said. "We've got plenty of time. Was there something you needed?"

"Yeah, I just kind of realised that I haven't said thank you yet," I said. "You guys have done all this for me, and I want you to know how much I appreciate it."

"Don't mention it," he replied. "It's what we do."

"But it's not like this is some small thing," I said. "You guys spent most of the afternoon saving my life! I mean, this is gods and aliens and robots and things I barely understand. I know this is normal for you, but I don't get why you would do all this just for me. I'm a nobody. You know, I'm not worth fighting a war over. I'm just some random kid."

"One random boy in impossible trouble," the White Ranger said. Hesitating a second longer, he lowered his voice. "About four years ago, there was a boy like you who took a short-cut home from school one day when he was kidnapped, given a Power Coin and then set loose on the city to kill and destroy whoever he liked."

"Whoa."

"He got better, don't worry, it all turned out okay in the end," the White Ranger continued. "But sometimes, things go wrong. Sometimes, you can do nothing wrong, just be standing there, minding your own business, when the world gets pulled out from under you." He paused, and swept his hands around the cabin of the zord. "It's those moments, when things go bad in the worst possible way, that's what we're here for."

"I'm starting to get that," I said.

He pointed to an empty seat. "They're more comfortable than you think," he said. "It'll be a long flight. You should get some rest. We're safe for the time being."

Seeing the sense in this, I stepped away from him. Heading into the bathroom, I washed my face and felt better. But staring into the mirror, I laughed. I barely recognised the bloodied, bruised face staring back at me. When all this was over, would I still be the same? Would my friends recognise me?

I'm not even sure I would.

Returning to the cabin, I helped myself to some of the food as the Rangers strategised around me. Most of them seemed like they were carefully poring over the information their leader Zordon had left for them. After getting a drink, I settled down into one of the seats. The White Ranger was right. They _were_ comfortable.

Leaning back in the chair, I felt my eyelids growing heavy. I closed my eyes, determined to only take a short nap, but I quickly drifted off into a restless, uneasy sleep. My dreams were blurry and indistinct, and I saw shadows and heard malevolent whispers in the night. I didn't remember much beyond looking at a sky with no stars, and feeling cold and alone at the end of all things.

Before long, I felt hands on my shoulders shaking me awake. For a second, I forgot where I was and hoped it had all been a nightmare. But my eyes soon focussed on the girl White Ranger standing in front of me. A second later, I recognised the inside of the Phoenix zord.

"What happened?" I asked, and climbed out of my seat. "Where are we?"

"Nothing," she replied, then gestured to the windows. "We're almost there. The planet Dhalia is only a few minutes away. I thought you might want to see it."

I gazed around the cabin and ran a hand through my unkempt hair. I didn't feel refreshed after my nap. If anything, I felt _more_ tired, but that was probably the effects of the virus. I shivered, thinking of the ticking clock hanging over me. The Rangers were all talking in the cockpit or making plans, but I noticed the Black Ranger standing by himself, watching the stars flash by. I realised that it wasn't the first time I'd noticed the Black Ranger keeping himself a few steps away from his team-mates over the course of the last day. With a frown, I walked over.

Just as I was about to say something, we reached the planet Dhalia. The planet appeared quite suddenly in space before us. My mouth fell open and no words came out as I stared at the alien world far below. Two small moons hung in orbit around the planet. Through the cloudy atmosphere, I could see green areas that I guessed were jungles and forests, wide patches of yellows and browns that must've been deserts, and the beautiful blue of deep oceans. If I looked carefully through the clouds, I could just make out snow-capped mountains and the tiny hint of what must've been enormous cities.

"Wow," I breathed. We continued to circle the planet, passing over what looked like a fierce hurricane lashing a coastal area with its spiral arms.

"It's something all right," the Black Ranger murmured beside me.

"So there's actually people down there?" I asked, as we passed over an azure ocean dotted with islands.

"Humans began on Earth, that part's not wrong," the Black Ranger began. "But through magic or science, or even some of those rift-things you saw on Olympus, people have found a way to colonise a whole bunch of planets throughout the galaxy. There's about a dozen or so. We've visited most of them."

"So people have spread everywhere?" I asked. "Like seeds from a tree."

"Or a virus."

I nodded. "Bethany would've loved this," I said.

"Bethany?" the Black Ranger repeated, and turned to me. "Girlfriend?"

"Ex-girlfriend, actually."

"Sorry."

"We were the high school power couple," I said. "It was always us. We were always an 'us'. We started going out, I don't know, grade eight or grade nine or something, and then she broke up with me before Christmas. I never said this to my parents, but I was actually glad for the family holiday this year, just to get away and get some space. It still hurts though."

"It doesn't go away in a hurry," the Black Ranger said.

I heard a tone in his voice I hadn't picked up on before. "You sound like you're speaking from experience?" I asked, but immediately regretted it. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be nosy."

He sighed behind his helmet. "She was the girl of my dreams," he said softly. "We were finally together at the end of high school and all through our first year of college, but she earned a scholarship and had to move away. We broke up before she left. Long-distance relationships never work, and someone always ends up getting hurt. I know deep down it was for the best, and I'm happy for the opportunity she has. She's gonna be brilliant. I know she will. But the other Rangers keep asking me whether I'm okay, and I keep lying to my friends and telling them that I'm fine. But I'm really not."

"It probably was the right decision," I said. "Long-distance can be tricky, you said it yourself. But, hang on, can't you guys teleport and stuff?"

He laughed. "You know, I even considered it," he said. "But I really doubt Zordon would appreciate me using our hardware for my love life. Besides," and he sighed. "Our teleport streaks are like neon signs to our enemies. 'The Power Rangers are here! Come throw a giant hedgehog at us!' or something."

"I guess that would've been hard," I said.

"It's just, I never realised that not seeing her every day or something as simple as not hearing her voice would hurt _this_ much," he continued. "I sound like a total idiot, right?"

"Not at all," I smiled. "You sound like you're in love."

"Same difference."

"After Bethany and I broke up, my best friend told me something, and I still remember it," I said. "He said that some things are meant to be, in which case, it doesn't matter how bad I feel, because at some point I'll get the chance to make it right. The other way around, if it's _not_ meant to be, then there's nothing I can do to ever make it happen, because it won't. To be fair, hearing that didn't make me feel a whole lot better, but it allowed me to get a little perspective, if that helps?"

"Thanks," the Black Ranger said. "Honestly? It doesn't really."

"Yeah, I know. That's what I said."

I was about to continue when the Pink Ranger's voice echoed into the cabin. "I've found the city of Chronopolis!" she called.

"Was it behind the couch?" asked the Aqua Ranger.

The Pink Ranger laughed. "I'm bringing us down right now," she said. "We'll be planet-side in a couple of minutes."

Everyone found their seats and buckled themselves in. The Aqua Ranger made another joke about our tray tables, but while everyone groaned and threw things at him, I didn't listen. My attention stayed firmly on the viewscreen showing the planet below growing larger and larger. I was surprised because it happened very fast and there was no turbulence at all. The stars began to fade as the sky grew bluer and bluer. After a few minutes, the zord dropped lightly through the clouds and the planet's surface came into view. I could see jagged mountains and thick forests, all getting closer. Finally, the zord came to a gentle stop, settling down as lightly as a feather.

The screens inside the zord flickered and switched themselves off. The Pink Ranger stepped out of the cockpit.

"Welcome to the planet Dhalia," she said to me.

 _To be continued._


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's notes - At this point, we've reached the halfway point. Thanks for sticking with me everybody :). With the last few chapters, we dealt with the myth and magic of the world around the Power Rangers. For the next few chapters, we dip more into the futuristic science-fiction part of the Rangers and their world. Brendan the Aqua Ranger has a conversation with Tim, in this chapter, where he mentions the phrase, 'We're the Power Rangers. We don't let the bad guys win'. That's the character's personal motto, that he adopted four years ago in one of his first adventures_ The Return of Ultramarine _. But it's a motto the team still operates by._

 _With that out of the way, enjoy chapter 8! There's no villains chasing the Rangers for the time being, but there's still mysteries to solve ... and in terms of Tim and the world-ending virus hibernating inside him? The clock is still ticking ..._

* * *

 **Chapter Eight**

"Another planet?" I repeated. "We're actually gonna go outside," and I pointed to the hatch, "onto another planet?"

"You bet," the Pink Ranger replied, then turned to her team-mates. "It's mid-morning local time, and the city of Chronopolis is in the valley over that line of hills there," and she pointed towards the left wing. "It's a bit of a hike, but I figured coming down here might buy us some time in the long run."

"You don't want them to know we're here?" I asked.

"No," the Red Ranger replied. "We want them to think we're visiting. General Skull and Automica are going to track us here eventually, if they're not already on their way. Keeping our base of operations hidden is a good idea for the time being. Every second they spend looking for us is a second we're gonna need."

I glanced around, confused. "But you're not gonna sneak into the city?"

"Even if we draw a crowd," the male White Ranger began, "the best way to get answers quickly? Knock on the front door."

"Yeah," agreed the Orange Ranger. "At the moment, we've only got one card to play. We might as well play it."

"If you say so," I said.

The rear hatch opened and the ramp extended to meet the ground. I let the other Rangers go first and then stopped at the end of the ramp. We'd come down in a mountain clearing. There was thick green forest all around. It wasn't that different to the trees back home, although I could see hints of silver and purple leaves through the canopy. The Pink Ranger had managed to land the zord by the shore of a pristine mountain lake, with the zord's right wing extending out over the water. I glanced to the grass underneath the ramp, about to step off when I froze.

For the first time in my life, I was about to leave a footprint on somewhere _other_ than planet Earth. I looked around to see the Rangers watching me curiously. I nodded and stepped down onto the grass.

"Wow," I breathed.

The girl White Ranger clapped. "You're a natural," she said.

I laughed. "I guess so."

"Let's hide our tracks," said the Red Ranger. The Pink Ranger raised a small handheld device, aimed it at the zord and pressed a button. The air around the Phoenix rippled, and a second later, the zord disappeared from view. I could still see the outline of the metal beast, but for all intents and purposes, the zord was now invisible.

"It takes a lot of power," the Pink Ranger explained, as the ramp pulled back and the hatch closed. "But I like to leave her hidden."

"And our next move is the city?" I asked.

"If we need to find out everything we can about the Skethani virus," the Yellow Ranger began, "that's the best place to start."

"Yeah," nodded the Orange Ranger. "The virus was created here a century ago. There has to be something they can tell us."

"Tim has about fifty hours left," the elder Blue Ranger said. "That's certainly enough time to gain some valuable insight. We need to make the most of it."

"Let's move," said the Red Ranger.

A wide trail through the forest led away from the clearing and towards a line of low hills in the distance. Keeping together, the thirteen of us followed it away from the zord. As we walked, I couldn't help but gaze around at the trees and animals we were passing, marvelling at all the alien life I could see. At one point, I spotted a brown lizard-like creature with six legs sunning itself on a rock. A few minutes later, we passed a shallow mountain stream with a family of small animals I can only describe as frogs the wrong way around. In the trees themselves were beautiful bird-like creatures I'd never seen before and would probably never see again. The smaller ones had long back legs and bright yellow feathers, while the larger birds seemed to fly on four wings with long curling tails. I shut my eyes to listen to their calls, but quickly reopened them for fear of missing something that I might never see again.

After a while, I noticed there were less Rangers than when we started. Glancing around, I saw that the Orange, White, Aqua and Purple Rangers had disappeared from view.

I turned to the Red Ranger. "We're missing four of your friends," I said. "Where did they go?"

"When we reach the city," the Red Ranger began, "I want you to hang back and follow the eight of us from a distance," and he indicated the remaining Rangers. "The other four will track you through the crowd unmorphed. I don't want anybody on this planet knowing you're with us."

"Should I have stayed back with the zord?" I asked.

"No," the Red Ranger replied. "We're not letting you out of our sight, not with Automica _and_ General Skull somewhere out there. You'll have a Ranger on all sides at all times. You just won't be able to see them. Do you trust us?"

I nodded shakily. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

"I'll take that as a yes," he replied, but I'm sure he was smiling beneath his visor.

We soon reached the top of the ridge, and the forest opened out before us into a hilltop clearing. With a clear view of the alien landscape, I came to a stop.

"Whoa," I said softly.

The valley was green and lush, with a wide river snaking through the middle and forested mountains on all sides. Following the river, I could see houses and farms built along the river banks, with paddocks and fields crisscrossing the landscape. But in the centre of the valley was a large city, protected by a fortified stone wall. If I squinted my eyes, I could make out crowded city streets and tree-lined parks between towering buildings. The style of architecture didn't remind me of anything except for old photos of London or Paris, but as the buildings got closer to the city centre, they became taller and more imposing, before finally growing into glittering towers of steel and glass. The city's skyline was dominated by sloping rooves and arched steeples, but everywhere I looked were the round faces of gigantic clocks. In the streets, I could see glimpses of odd-looking vehicles alongside horse-drawn carriages, while floating ships that sparkled in the sun docked with ledges high above the streets.

"It's beautiful," I said, as the group kept walking.

"That's Chronopolis," said the Yellow Ranger. "The fabled city of time."

"Chronopolis," I repeated. "That explains all the clocks. I just wish Alex or my family could see this."

The Pink Ranger heard the tone in my voice and rested a hand on my shoulder. "Your friends and family will be okay," she said. "We have friends in high places taking care of them. Tell us more about the city, Blue."

The elder Blue Ranger nodded. "Chronopolis was founded by settlers from Victorian England about five hundred years ago," he said. But he noticed my expression and quickly added, "I know the timeline doesn't quite match up to Earth. The original settlers travelled through space _and_ time before founding the city. In any event, that should eliminate any language or translation problems, which will work to our advantage."

"I guess that makes sense," I said. "But if I think about it too much, it's gonna hurt my head."

"The city founders believed that time was a sacred concept, one of the fundamentally unchanging forces of the Universe," the Blue Ranger continued. "As a quantum physicist, I take some issue with that, but I understand their intent. Everything from the orbit of the planet's moons to the changing of the seasons was observed with an awed reverence. Politically, the city is an independent nation state, self-governed and fully self-contained."

"So they'll be friendly?" I asked.

"Theoretically."

"Put it this way," said the Red Ranger, "we haven't done anything to really annoy them."

"Yet," added the male White Ranger.

"The day is young," teased the Pink Ranger.

"So it's like ancient history meets 'Back to the Future'?" I asked.

The Grey Ranger stepped up beside me. "What do you mean?"

"Look at it," I said, pointing to the city. "It's farms and spaceships side-by-side. That's just weird."

"Not really," the Grey Ranger replied. "Think about it. People always need to eat, no matter where they live. Farms mean food, milk, fresh greens and dairy products. You know, things like that."

"I guess you're right," I said.

"It's two things we've found are universal to the human experience," the elder Blue Ranger added. "Agriculture and commerce. Chronopolis grew by way of mysticism and super-science working in tandem. You have the comforts of rural tradition alongside starships of the future."

By now we were halfway down the hill, and the forest was starting to thin.

"Sounds like a cool place," I said, then smiled. "Says the kid from a coastal fishing village in New South Wales. How the hell did I wind up here?"

The Grey Ranger laughed. "I know what you mean," he said.

"You do?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I grew up in a small town too. I always wanted to explore the world and see everything I could. But if you'd asked me four years ago where I'd be today, I don't think this would've been my answer."

"I bet not," I replied.

"I'm always glad to go home and see my family and my dog," he continued, "but there's something about all this," and he waved his hands around the forest, "getting to explore the galaxy, I mean, I can't imagine anything better. And sure, we can't go five steps without tripping over something trying to kill us, but that's just part of the deal."

"That sounds promising," I said. "What about Chronopolis? Do you think they'll help us?"

"I hope so," the Grey Ranger replied. "We've seen some pretty terrible things all over the galaxy, but I still think people are basically good. Zordon calls it diplomacy, but I like to believe in people. I'd much rather see them at their best than judge them at their worst."

"I bet that's hard sometimes," I said. "You guys must see people on the worst days of their lives. Case in point," and I tapped my chest.

"That's true," he replied, and he paused before continuing. "But even with all that, even counting all the tragedies and all the monsters, honestly? I wouldn't trade this life and these friends for anything in the world. On a mission once, someone said something to us, that when things are at their worst, the Rangers are at their best. I really liked that."

I smiled. "I like that too."

We soon reached the valley floor. The path we were following eventually left the forest and curved around to join a wide paved road. The actual city wasn't too far away, and I could hear the sounds of civilisation over the noises of the woods. Peering through the trees, I could see glimpses of the city's many clock towers rising over the city walls. In front of the group, the Red Ranger raised his hand and brought us to a stop.

"Okay," he said, and turned to face me. "This is where you'll need to wait. Give us a couple of minutes then run down and act like you're part of the crowd."

"Are you sure there'll be a crowd?" I asked. "It's gonna seem pretty obvious who I am if I'm in a parade consisting of one."

The Pink Ranger laughed. "Trust us, we know how to draw a crowd," she said.

"We won't be able to acknowledge you," the Red Ranger continued, "and try not to keep too close. But we'll be keeping an eye on you the whole time, and there'll be Rangers in the crowd alongside you."

I nodded. "Okay."

Standing in the shadows of the forest, I watched as the Rangers went on ahead, reaching the well-worn road and heading for the city walls. A horse and carriage trundled past after a few minutes, and the farmer's eyes grew wide as he passed. He immediately pulled over and climbed down in shock. As the Rangers passed the farm houses along the road, people ran back into their homes, shouting in surprise. More and more people were soon flocking to the side of the road to watch the Rangers pass. The Pink Ranger had been right. They really did know how to draw a crowd. For a while, everyone stayed back, but one-by-one, people began drawing closer and closer, waving and shouting. First came the children, then the teenagers who weren't easily impressed by anything, then the adults and finally entire families. The Yellow Ranger leaned down to give a quick hug to a young girl who squealed with delight, while the Red and White Rangers shook hands with the men and women they passed. Back home, it would've been like rock stars walking down the street and getting mobbed by their fans.

Just how renowned were the Rangers to get this kind of reception in a city they'd never visited before, on a world that wasn't even their own? It was amazing, but the more I thought about it, it was kind of scary, too.

If the Rangers couldn't save me and the virus went nuclear, would _I_ end up being this famous?

Or, I suppose, infamous?

As the crowd swelled, I took the opportunity to run down after them. The Rangers were almost halfway to Chronopolis, and I had to jog quite a distance before I caught up to them. I was worried that my clothes might give me away, since they didn't match anything worn by the farmers, but the closer the procession got to the city, the more colourful it became. By this point, nobody was paying much attention to the crowd, anyway. Even as I chased after them, the crowd around the Rangers continued to swell with people wanting to hug the Rangers or shake their hands as they passed. A line of tall trees grew on either side of the road as it left the farm houses and approached Chronopolis, and I finally caught up to the Rangers as the crowd of hundreds emerged from the avenue of trees. I joined the surge of people, unnoticed by any of them, when I felt a tap on the shoulder and heard a boy's voice in my ear.

"Good job. We're here to protect you," he said.

I looked at the people all around me, but couldn't identify the person who'd spoken. To my left was a family of farmers, while on the right were two girls. One of them had dark curly hair, while the other had short blonde hair tied in a ponytail. The blonde didn't seem to notice me, keeping her attention fixed on the Rangers, while the dark-haired girl saw me, smiled politely then turned back to the procession. I shrugged and continued scanning the crowd. It was almost frustrating. I knew they were there. I could feel their gazes. But where were they?

The procession reached the city wall and several well-armed guards with swords at their backs and pistols on their belts came out to greet us.

"Rangers of Earth, it's an honour to have you in our city," the senior guard said.

"We're here to see Chronopolis's Lord Chancellor," the Red Ranger began, his voice barely audible over the shouts and cries from the crowd. "We need to ask for his help."

"Keep following this road," the guard replied, pointing behind him. "It'll take you to the centre of Chronopolis."

"Thank you," nodded the Yellow Ranger. The guards stepped back, and the parade made its way through the bottleneck of the gate into the city proper.

A grassy field lay inside the city wall, with cows grazing beside horse stables and inns for weary travellers. Following the guard's directions, we soon reached the city itself, and as the procession made its way through the streets, the crowd swelled exponentially. In the streets themselves, sleek silver vehicles that moved with a curious humming noise stopped to let the Rangers pass, while horse and cart drivers swerved to give them more space. We passed grassy parks and dark little alleys, with towering buildings overhanging the cobbled streets. Above our heads were futuristic antenna arrays, while any building that seemed more important than the others had a clock face set high above the road. All around, I could see faces in windows and people on rooftops staring down at the Rangers. The city was amazing, and I had to keep reminding myself to stop and take it all in. Everything was clean and neat, and I laughed when I spotted what the Rangers later confirmed was a row of vending machines wedged between two tall buildings.

Some things were universal.

The words on all the shop fronts looked like a very stylised type of English, but if I studied it carefully I could read most of it. The city around us was grinding to a halt as the Rangers passed with their still-growing legion of fans, but nobody seemed to mind too much. Eventually I noticed sailboats over the top of the surrounding buildings, and realised I could hear sounds of the river nearby.

After making our way through the city for more than an hour, we finally reached the centre of Chronopolis. It was a wide plaza in front of an enormous stone building, with a gigantic clock set in the tallest tower. On the stones beneath our feet was an enormous twelve-pointed circular design. By now, the plaza was full of people who'd come to see the source of the commotion. Word had spread quickly around the city, and the Rangers reached the steps to the enormous building just as a short man wearing a gold vest stepped outside. The man was almost as round as he was tall, and he seemed quite nervous, tottering down the stairs at an alarming pace to greet the Rangers halfway. It was a cool day, but even at a distance, I could see he was sweating profusely, and he dabbed at his forehead with a handkerchief as a swarm of assistants and secretaries scurried after him.

I might not have had any superpowers, but I knew enough to recognise an important government official when I saw one.

Hmm. All that time in Canberra had actually come in handy. I made a mental note to thank my parents for the trip, now more than ever.

"Power Rangers of Earth!" the man exclaimed dramatically. I was more sure than ever he was the Lord Chancellor the Rangers had referred to earlier. "Power Rangers of Earth, let me have the privilege of welcoming you to our fine city. It's wonderful to see you!"

"Thank you," said the Red Ranger. All around, the noise from the crowd was dying down, as people strained their ears to hear what was happening.

"What brings you to Chronopolis, if I may ask?" the Lord Chancellor asked.

"We wish we were visiting under better circumstances," the Yellow Ranger began. "But we're here because of the Skethani virus."

Almost instantly, all sound died away as if someone had switched off a radio. If I'd had the presence of mind to drop a pin, it would've been heard from one side of the city to the other. The Lord Chancellor's joyful expression vanished at once, replaced by a look of terrified disbelief.

"The virus?" he asked in a whisper. I watched as he loosened his collar.

"Unfortunately the virus was found and awakened on our homeworld," the Red Ranger said. "We've travelled halfway across the galaxy to try and stop it."

"Of course, of course," the man replied. But as he did, he gazed around the crowd. I shrank back, but luckily, a tall teenage boy was standing in front of me. "Is the virus somewhere nearby?"

"Trust me," the Red Ranger said, and gestured to the Rangers standing around him. "The host is somewhere very safe right now. That's all you need to worry about."

I grinned when I realised he wasn't _technically_ lying. It was some skill. I was starting to wonder who the better politician on the steps really was.

"But yes," the Red Ranger continued, turning back to meet the Lord Chancellor's gaze. "The virus is active, and we're running out of time to stop it. Every piece of information we have leads to this city, where the virus was created one hundred years ago. We know a lot of time has passed and we hate to be a burden, but we're here to request any information you have on the virus. Anything at all, no matter how trivial or nonessential it might seem, would be tremendously useful."

The crowd of people turned to the Lord Chancellor. I suddenly realised what the Red Ranger was doing. He knew the reception the Rangers would get when they reached Chronopolis. In fact, he was counting on it. And now he was getting hundreds of people on his side without them realising it. He was playing an entire city, and backing the Lord Chancellor into a corner where he _had_ to do what the Rangers asked.

The Orange Ranger had been right. The Rangers had nothing to offer but themselves, and they were still going to get exactly what they wanted. I knew I'd just watched masters at work. As the Lord Chancellor's face fell, even he knew it, too.

The Lord Chancellor turned to his advisors, and I couldn't hear their conversation. After a few minutes, he stepped forward. "Of course!" he shouted, and the crowd broke into applause. "If we could be of any assistance at all to the Rangers of Earth, we would be most happy. If you could give us some time to retrieve everything we have from the archives?"

"Of course," the elder Blue Ranger said. "We understand Chronopolis's archives are some of the most exhaustive on the planet."

I watched the Lord Chancellor's smile fade, just enough to know he was now actively _trying_ to look happy. In any event, he quickly whispered instructions to his swarm of assistants, and they dashed off. I took the time to wander around the plaza, looking at all the buildings and seeing people eating in outdoor cafes. Most of the food seemed odd, but I almost bought a couple of things before realising I'd left my wallet back in the Phoenix. Besides, the Australian notes I had were going to be pretty useless.

An hour later, with the crowd diminished but still strong, the Lord Chancellor's assistants dashed back out of the building carrying stacks of files under their arms. The Lord Chancellor stepped back and the Rangers gratefully accepted everything the assistants offered. Once they were done, the secretaries stepped back behind their boss, and the Lord Chancellor waved his arms in the direction of the city gates.

"We wish you the best of luck on your quest," he boomed. "If you need any further assistance..."

"We'll know who to ask," the Red Ranger said. After thanking the Lord Chancellor, the eight Rangers stepped down and headed back for the city entrance. Watching the chancellor's face fall, I frowned. He seemed awfully keen to get rid of them. I don't think I trusted him. Around me, the crowd started moving again as the Rangers left the plaza. I felt a tap on my shoulder and glanced around, but I didn't recognise any of the faces.

It was again slow-going, but the crowd finally reached the city gates. The Rangers stepped out of the city, waving goodbye to their fans. While most people stayed in the city, I slipped into the crowd of farmers as they followed the Rangers back out onto the tree-lined avenue. Keeping my distance, I followed the Rangers for a little while, hanging back as they turned off the road and disappeared into the forest. Wary of anybody watching, I continued further down the road until I came across a second path leading into the woods. I'd only been walking for a minute when I turned a corner to see the Orange, White, Aqua and Purple Rangers waiting for me.

"Well done," the Orange Ranger said, and he gestured to a narrow trail that led in the same direction as the first.

"I didn't see any of you," I said. "I don't think I did. But the Lord Chancellor was helpful. Although, I gotta say..."

"What?" asked the Aqua Ranger.

I turned to him. "I got a feeling he was hiding something," I said. "He seemed pretty happy to see us go."

We reached the trail that led back to the Phoenix, and made good time returning. It was darker now. The sun set over the mountains while we walked, but the two moons made it brighter than nights back home. Before too long, we stepped into the mountain clearing and met up with the other Rangers. As they reunited, I yawned and then laughed to myself. In a little over twenty-four hours, I'd covered two time zones and a whole other planet. Maybe my body clock was so messed up it had finally given up, but I could barely keep my eyes open.

The Pink Ranger hit the button on her silver device. With a flash, the zord's invisibility shield faded away. I stepped over to the Aqua Ranger who was standing nearby.

"Can I go inside and lie down?" I asked. "I'm just wiped."

"Sure," he said. "Follow me." He led me up the ramp and took my hand as we stepped into the zord. He pushed open the door to one of the rooms in the corner. Inside, I saw a row of bunk beds attached to the wall.

"They're actually pretty comfortable," he said.

I smiled. "But am I gonna be safe?" I asked. "We're not travelling anymore and we don't know where any of our bad guys are."

"You'll be fine," the Aqua Ranger replied. "We'll be right outside. Remember, nobody without a Power Coin gets inside a zord, so what's the worry?"

"Nobody except for an army of robots," I pointed out. "Or a horde of zombies."

"Hmm," he replied, and I imagined his expression falling behind his visor. "Good point. I was kinda hoping you'd forgotten about that." I laughed, and he clapped his hand against my shoulder. "See? It's not so bad if you're still laughing."

"So you like telling jokes?" I said.

"The secret to this?" the Aqua Ranger asked, gesturing around the cabin. "You gotta laugh. Bad guys don't expect it. They expect fear and awe and cowering obedience. But if they make their big dramatic speech and you start laughing at them? It throws 'em. They don't know what to do."

"Seriously?"

"Hell yeah," he replied. "I think it's the best piece of advice I could ever give you. Nothing deflates world conqueror number fifteen hundred faster than telling him how ridiculous he looks in his giant purple hat. Thing is, they usually _do_ look ridiculous. It's a powerful advantage, and sometimes it's the only one you've got. Use whatever you can to throw 'em off their game, even if you have nothing." He lowered his voice. "Besides, we're the Power Rangers. We don't let the bad guys win."

"I guess so."

"So listen," he continued. "I'll make a promise. And I'm a superhero. We don't break our promises. Even if the other Rangers go off to fight some horrible thing with too many teeth and not enough manners, I'll be right outside the door here," and he pointed to the ramp leading outside. "And I won't leave."

I nodded. Stepping into the room, I kicked off my shoes and climbed onto one of the bunks. The Rangers later told me that the mattresses were some kind of futuristic alien technology, but it was one of the most comfortable beds I'd ever had. Resting my head on the pillow, I was fast asleep within minutes.

 _To be continued._


	9. Chapter 9

_Author's notes -_ Jokermask _and_ Son of Whitebeard _, thanks :). Chronopolis was also very different in the initial stages of planning this story, but I eventually settled on a wonderfully futuristic (and suitably alien) sci-fi utopia._ _It made a lovely contrast. The city of Olympus was this silent, overwhelming, magical place steeped in its own history and self-importance ... while Chronopolis is a functional city, with citizens and government (not to mention, local wildlife and geography). And I like the idea of a city that finds the entire concept of time sacred, so I definitely think the Rangers will visit Chronopolis again.  
_

 _Chapter 9 was one of my favourite chapters (and I've said that a lot, but I really mean it!). For the first and only time throughout this story, our narrator Tim is asleep inside the Phoenix, and has no part of the following proceedings. For a little while, the Rangers don't have to be this team of invincible faceless superheroes. Here, they can be just a bunch of friends on a crazy adventure (on New Year's Eve, no less). I really loved writing this chapter, for that reason._

 _Enjoy! :)_

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

Brendan stood by the door watching as I fell asleep. Waiting for a few minutes to make sure, he quietly shut the door and made his way outside into the clearing. The sky was filled with unfamiliar stars and constellations. He took a minute to take in the sight of the two moons hanging low on the horizon, before stepping over to join his team-mates. The Rangers were all sitting on collapsible seats from inside the Phoenix, around a small pile of kindling they'd gathered from the underbrush. With the mountain cliffs overlooking the lake and the thick forest on all sides, the group was protected from view and safe for the time being.

"Is he asleep?" asked Scott.

Brendan nodded. "He was gone before his head hit the pillow," the Aqua Ranger replied. "I'd be surprised if we hear from him for the next twelve hours."

Teresa reached for her blade blaster and pointed it at the pile of kindling. Once the fire was lit, everyone stood up and reached for their morphers.

"Power down!"

In twelve flashes of light, the Rangers demorphed. Everyone suddenly slumped forward. Jason stretched out his arms and felt his joints cracking in protest, while Sarah let out a gulping yawn.

"Man," Tommy breathed. "I don't think I've ever had my helmet on that long before."

"I'm just glad we can finally use our names again," Scott said, with a sigh of relief. "The number of times the last couple of days I've almost said somebody's real name, and had to stop and check before I did."

"You're not wrong," agreed Kim. "I know we did that training exercise a few years ago, but I don't think of you guys as your Ranger colours! I've had to, like, reorganise my entire way of thinking the last couple of days."

"Maybe we should use our dinosaur names in the future?" Teresa asked. "Or would that be more awkward?"

"Speaking for those of us aren't as palaeontologically-savvy," Ian began, "I still can't pronounce half of them," and everyone laughed.

Once everyone had settled in, Billy handed out all the files the Lord Chancellor had given them, while Trini passed around the extra information on the planet Dhalia they'd printed out from the Phoenix's databanks. Everybody took a stack of papers and began quietly reading. But as the fire crackled, Brendan gazed around his circle of friends and giggled.

Ian turned to him. "What's so funny?" the Grey Ranger asked.

"Nothing," Brendan said. "It's just, we're on one of the most technologically-advanced planets in the galaxy, and we're doing this by campfire."

Everyone saw the ridiculousness of the situation and started laughing. Kimberly piled the documents she'd been reading on the ground and rubbed her eyes. "My eyes are going blurry," she said. "Do we have any food?"

"Here," Teresa said, and passed Kim a small bundle. "While you guys were waiting for the Lord Chancellor, I picked up some Dhalian delicacies from one of the bakeries in the plaza. I had a couple before. They're like pretzels, but they're sweet and kind of chewy."

"I think I will definitely try a couple of those," Trini said, and reached for the bag.

"I don't know about anybody else," Jason began, "but I would arm-wrestle Automica herself for one of Ernie's cheeseburgers, right now. Swear to goodness, I would."

"Oh, before I forget," Teresa continued, offering Sarah a handful of silver coins. "For your collection. I didn't think you had any from Dhalia."

"No, they're great," Sarah said, running her gaze over the coins. "Thanks."

"Gee it'd be funny if Tim stumbled outside right now," Peter said.

"Yeah, that's the word for it," said Tommy, then smiled.

"It's okay," said Brendan. "I hit the internal motion sensor before I came out here. If he wakes up and moves around the cabin, we'll know about it."

Teresa turned to Scott. "Actually, Tim picked up that we're brother and sister back on Olympus," she said. Scott nodded and she grinned. "He also thought that Jason and Pete were dating."

Peter shook his head, while Jason laughed and glanced to his best friend. "And not for the first time," the Red Ranger grinned.

"You laugh, but we've gotta work on the impression we're leaving," Pete said.

Jason waved his hand. "We'll make it a new year's resolution," he said. "It's probably about the right time."

"Hang on," Zac said, and raised his watch. "Guys, it's like eleven fifty-nine on New Year's Eve back home, going by this."

Trini smiled. "I guess we should..."

Zac held up his hand. "Wait," he said, and everyone waited until his hand fell, and he gazed around the clearing. "Happy New Year, guys."

"Happy New Year," said Jason.

Peter turned to the Red Ranger beside him. "You too," he said.

Zac couldn't stop himself from giggling. "Yeah, you two. It's stuff like _that_."

"Should we all hold hands and sing 'auld lang syne' or something?" Kim asked.

"How about we just hope for the best?" Teresa said. "A good year, where the day gets saved and nobody gets hurt? Is that something we could wish for?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Tommy said.

"It'd be a nice change," Scott murmured.

"At least we get to ring in the New Year together," Sarah said, "even if we're a million miles away from home."

"Hear hear," Zac added.

Jason glanced to the Black Ranger sitting opposite. "It's good to see you smiling again," he said.

"Yeah," said Brendan. "I haven't heard you talk this much in weeks."

"Look, I guess I'm still kind of bummed about the break-up," Zac replied. "And it's fine. These things are meant to be hard," but his voice trailed off. "Maybe it's just me, and I know we've all been busy lately, but it feels like we haven't done this in ages. You know, all twelve of us together, on the run and far from home. I know you guys have spent the last couple of days convincing Tim that we can help him. But you convinced me too. I know things are bad and scary, but it's _us_. When are things _not_ scary? And if anyone in the world, hell, if anyone in the entire freaking galaxy can pull off something crazy and ridiculous, then it's us."

"Well put," said Ian.

"So let's start the year by saving Tim," Billy said. "I think that would set the best possible precedent," and he nodded to the files spread out around the group. "The answer _has_ to be here. We just haven't located it yet."

"You got it," said Kim. As the mood turned earnest again, everybody returned to the files. But as the night wore on and the campfire burned down, one-by-one, each of the Rangers sat back in resignation, dropping the stack of papers at their feet and massaging their aching eyes.

"This is nothing," said Tommy, angrily throwing the files aside. "A giant pile of nothing."

"Worse than that," added Sarah glumly. "We lost how much time to this?"

"Damn it," Jason swore. Standing up, he kicked a stone in frustration and watched it skitter away into the shadows. "Damn it! It's taken us a day and a half and we're right back to square one!"

"We're running out of time we don't have," Brendan said. "And this is nothing more than what Zordon and Alpha found for us originally. I don't know about anyone else, but mine was just stories and reports from the local media, plus a whole heap of numbers and not much else."

There was a general murmur of agreement around the campfire. "I thought for sure we'd find something," said Teresa.

"You're not wrong," Scott said. He sat back, suddenly thoughtful. "Isn't it weird, though, that we asked for every bit of information they had on the virus, and they gave us nothing?"

Ian leaned forward. "You think there's something else going on?"

"Or were they actively hiding something from us?" Sarah asked. "Tim said as we were leaving this afternoon that he didn't trust the Lord Chancellor, that it seemed like he was trying to get rid of us in a hurry. Maybe he was?"

Jason sat down. "I told you," he said. "Smarter than he thinks."

Peter turned to Scott. "So what are we missing?"

"Well, everything," Scott said. "Like, okay, who ended up with the bio on the scientist who created the virus?"

There was a pause as everybody shuffled their papers, and then Trini raised her hand. "Got it," she said, and she began reading. "Doctor Francesca Lorenzo was Chronopolis's leading expert on experimental technology. After programming the virus, she stole it for reasons unclear and hid it on a faraway world. After that, she went into hiding, was branded a traitor and never returned home." Trini shrugged. "That's it."

"Yeah," agreed Peter. "That's about what I've got, too."

"Same here," added Zac.

"But that's what I mean," Scott said. "That doesn't tell us anything. This scientist built one of the most dangerous weapons in creation and then disappeared with it, and that's it? That's all the information they ever bothered to compile? Nothing about her background, her family, her political leanings, or maybe connections to any subversive groups? Not even a photo? I mean, doesn't that seem strange to anybody else?"

"They could've black-listed her after they branded her a traitor," Tommy said.

Scott shook his head. "But even so..."

"I see Scott's point," said Billy, taking off his glasses to polish them. "It's highly improbable the Skethani virus came into being by accident, not given everything we've learned about its destructive capabilities. It would've taken a tremendous amount of time and resources."

"Not to mention money," Scott said. "Did she pay for all this with loose change she found behind the couch? In everything we've looked at tonight, and everything Zordon left for us, were there any references to money, or to any financial records at all?" He paused, letting his words sink in. "There are _big_ gaps here, and we need to fill them in if we stand of chance of saving Tim."

"You're right," Peter said, and stood up. "There's no way around it. We need to get back into the city." He held up a map of Chronopolis that Zordon had printed out for them the day before. "There's an archive warehouse behind the main chancellery building. It's probably worth a look. It's the middle of the night so we can get in there easily enough. Teresa, Sarah and Scott can come with me. The rest of you should stay here and protect Tim."

"I don't like us splitting up," said Jason softly.

"Seriously, guys," Zac said. "It's that kind of stuff."

"But Scott's right," Teresa said. "We need to look at the city's historical records. They're hiding something, and it might be something critical."

"One problem," said Trini. "The Lord Chancellor knows we're here and he knows what we're looking for. If Chronopolis has any kind of mystical protections, your Power Coins will give you away from kilometres out."

"So we leave them here," said Peter.

"No," said Tommy flatly.

"Automica and General Skull are looking for Tim," Peter replied. "They're not looking for us. You guys are in a lot more danger than we'll be."

"I know it's risky, but I think it's a good idea," said Scott, and reached for his morpher. "We've already got two armies coming for us. We don't have time to risk fighting our way through a third. From here on in, stealth is our best bet. If you need us, just come and get us in the Phoenix."

Jason nodded. "Just be careful," he said. Without another word, Peter handed Jason his morpher, while Scott stepped around the campfire to leave his coin with Billy. Sarah gave hers to Ian, while Teresa handed her morpher to Trini.

"Good luck," said Ian.

"We'll be back in a few hours," Peter said. "Keep Tim safe," and the four Rangers disappeared into the forest.

* * *

Keeping to the shadows, the four teens crept through the woods and eventually reached the outskirts of Chronopolis, its streets and towers quiet in the late hour. But as the four Rangers gazed along the city walls, they saw that there were far more city guards on watch than had been there in the morning.

"That's a lot of guards," Sarah murmured, and cracked her knuckles.

"We can't risk a fight," Peter whispered. "We need to make it past them without being seen."

"That shouldn't be too hard," Teresa said. "They're expecting twelve Power Rangers to show up with all guns blazing. They're not expecting us."

"Let's hope not," Scott added.

Moving as silently as possible, the four teens crept past the farms outside the city and soon reached the fortified wall. Glancing along the barrier, they were disappointed to see the one drainage grate that led under the wall was heavily guarded, but a hundred metres further along, a large tree stood growing beside the barrier. Scaling the tree's limbs, the four Rangers held their breaths as a guard paced beneath them, before lowering themselves onto the wall and climbing down on the inside. Following the main road, they were soon making their way through the darkened city streets. Up ahead lay the central plaza, with the chancellery looming out of the shadows. Peter pointed to a tall steeple just to the right of the plaza.

"There it is," he said. "The city archives building."

"Let's hope all the guards are at the wall tonight," Teresa whispered.

Luckily, they found the building unguarded aside from a single dozing sentry. Once they'd used Alpha's nanotech skeleton key to get inside, they walked through a deserted foyer and down a spiral staircase into the enormous archives room. Sarah let out a low whistle as they played their flashlights around the space. The rows of archives stretched on for kilometres, extending far back under the sleeping city above their heads.

"Easy then," Sarah said brightly, and turned to Scott. "What's the plan?"

"I want to find records of what the city's leaders were doing a hundred years ago," Scott replied. "I'm playing a hunch, but I bet there was a reason the Lord Chancellor was stone-walling us."

"Good idea," said Teresa. "I want to follow the money and check back through the city's taxes and finances."

"What about us, fearless leader?" Sarah asked.

"Something Billy said made me think," Peter replied. "Dr Lorenzo couldn't have created the virus in her garage, could she? Let's go back a hundred years and look for universities, scientific installations and military research facilities. There's gotta be some clue to the origins of the Skethani virus. There has to be."

The four teens got to work. Following the labels on the storage boxes, the Rangers made their way down the darkened aisles. Scott was first to find the records from a century ago, while two aisles away, Teresa smiled as she found the taxation records and budget reports from the city's treasury. They'd been kept in meticulous order, like tax records the galaxy over. Meanwhile, Peter and Sarah sat down on the floor and began scanning maps of the city, soon moving onto old records of government employees. Making various piles of paper on the carpet around them, they'd been sorting through the files for hours when the sound of footsteps reached them. They looked up to see Teresa and Scott hurrying towards them.

"You got something?" Peter asked.

"You bet we do," Scott said, as he and Teresa sat down beside them. Scott dropped a bundle of files at their feet. "Check it out. A hundred years ago, the city of Chronopolis was engaged in a bitter war with a rival city over an important trade route. That city isn't even there anymore, so three guesses who won."

"That makes sense," Peter said. "There's no market for powerful new weapons during peace time, is there?"

"So why didn't the Lord Chancellor just tell us that?" Sarah asked.

"Here's why," Teresa replied, holding up another file. "This is what the city was making from its taxes at the time. On this other page, here are the annual budgets and where that money was going. But look at it! The two figures are completely different. There's a huge chunk of money missing from the city's budget. They were channelling that cash somewhere, and given the Lord Chancellor at the time signed off on it, it was something he didn't want his people to know about."

Peter sat back as realisation dawned. "They were paying for it," he said. "The city actually commissioned their best scientist to build a weapon because of a war they were fighting. That's why the Lord Chancellor was so quick to get rid of us. He didn't want us to uncover the secret."

"Yeah, that Chronopolis itself was responsible for the Skethani virus," Sarah said. "They rewrote their own history to forget about it."

"Well that's the 'why'," Teresa said. "How did you go with the 'where'?"

"Not so good," Sarah replied, and pointed to the stacks of papers spread out around them. "There were at least a dozen places a hundred years ago where they could've made the virus, even a couple of off-world ones. The city was pretty damn prosperous back in the day. But I haven't found anything that links any of them to Doctor Lorenzo or the Skethani virus."

"Wait a second," Peter said suddenly, looking to his cousin. "They were creating a dangerous weapon, but the chancellery didn't want the people of the city to know about it. There's no way they would've worked on it here in Chronopolis."

"I see what you mean," Sarah said. "So they would've gone as far away from the city as they could," and she reached for a box of records nearby. "Okay, I've got three off-world bases. A trading outpost on the planet Techthon, a scientific installation on the planet Nerimos, and a..."

"Nerimos?" Teresa repeated, and began flipping through the pages she'd brought over. "Wait, hang on, that rings a bell..."

"I thought there wasn't any record of the missing money?" Peter asked.

"There wasn't," Teresa replied, pulling a sheet free. "But look at this! About the same time as the war, the city hired a commercial freighter, the Zenith Carriership or something, to ferry a hell of a lot of scientific equipment to the installation on Nerimos. Like any government bureaucracy, they kept their receipts." She gazed around the group. "Guys, this is it. This has to be the place."

"Is the base still there though?" asked Sarah. "What happened to it?"

Teresa scanned the documents she was holding. "Well there's no receipt for any kind of return trip," she replied. "And there's no mention of funding for the base in any of the budget reports that came afterwards. The base must've been abandoned, and they left all their equipment there on Nerimos."

"If we can get to the base where the virus was actually made," Scott said, "I'm betting we can find a clue how to unmake it."

"Next stop, planet Nerimos," said Teresa.

"Grab everything," Peter said. "We can bring it back later."

But as the Rangers began gathering up all the information they'd found, Sarah reached for a dusty box of records from the scientific base on Nerimos. Flicking back through them, her face fell as she found a worn, tattered report hidden behind one of the folders. "Guys, listen to this," she said. "I hadn't got to this crate yet, but this transmission was intercepted before it reached a target here in the city. Going by the date, it's the last transmission Chronopolis ever received from Nerimos," and she took a breath before reading it out loud. "I have created something I cannot destroy. What have we done? Our only hope is to take the virus to another world and bury it so deep it shall never be found. I pray to every god on every world that it stays hidden, or else it would mean the end of everything. I will miss the streets of my city and the smiles of my people, but I do this for them." Sarah fell silent, and gazed around the group. "She wasn't stealing the virus. She was trying to protect everybody!"

"And they called her a traitor for it," frowned Teresa. "Seriously not cool."

The four stood up. Peter emptied the contents of a box onto the floor so they could carry everything they'd found.

"Forget stealth," Peter said tersely. "We need to get this back to the others, like right now!"

 _To be continued._


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's notes - Thanks for the feedback, guys and girls. It really does make me really happy to know you're enjoying the tale :). By this point, I was thinking, two villains just wasn't enough, so I needed a third batch. With a special guest appearance from a fourth! :) Plus, although the Rangers spend most of this story morphed, it just isn't a proper Power Rangers story, I feel, without an awesome morphing sequence. This is another chapter where everybody gets to be awesome! Almighty battle scene, incoming ... Enjoy :).  
_

* * *

 **Chapter Ten**

I must've been exhausted, because I woke from the deepest sleep I'd ever had. I didn't remember any dreams though, and as my eyes fluttered open, I was thankful for that, at least. For half a second I wondered what planet I was on, but then the interior of the Phoenix took shape around me, and I nodded to myself and sat up.

Pulling on my shoes, I stepped into the bathroom before helping myself to some of the food the Rangers had left for me. The Rangers must've been outside since the zord was deserted and eerily quiet. Feeling a little uneasy, I made my way down the ramp and out into the clearing.

As promised, the Aqua Ranger was sitting on the ground by the ramp, his back to one of the zord's giant silver feet. Hearing my footsteps, he turned to me and nodded. The Rangers were all morphed and keeping watch over the shadowy trees. Seeing me, they waved greetings and wished me a good morning, but I noticed several of them were missing. They must've been standing guard on the other side of the Phoenix, so I stepped around the zord to stretch my legs. The planet's moons had set, and the forest was dark and still. It felt like it was very early in the morning.

But as I walked behind the Phoenix zord, a sudden flash of flame lit up the clearing. I let out a surprised yell and jumped back in shock as two figures appeared before me, the grass beneath their feet scorched and blackened from their arrival.

The woman on the left was almost as ancient as the Olympians, with long silver hair held up in two great spikes behind her head. She was wearing a crumpled red dress that fell to the ground, adorned with jewels and an elaborate feathered collar. She had on at least four necklaces and her fingers were covered in rings, with dozens of sparkling gemstones between them. In one hand, she carried a staff with a glowing red orb at the end. Inscribed on the staff were strange golden symbols I couldn't read, but in the low light, they gave the impression of dark magic in a forbidden language.

Beside her stood who I initially thought was a man, but as my eyes adjusted, I saw he was anything but. It was as if his skin had disappeared, leaving behind nothing but muscle and sinew under a shiny metal exoskeleton. His mouth was hidden behind a steel grill while his eyes were protected by a red visor. In his hand he carried a staff as well, but this one was silver with a stylised "Z" at the top. Like the gods of Olympus, power seemed to crackle around them, but it wasn't organic or natural. Instead, it seemed like it was trying to escape in fits and spurts, as if it had been trapped and hoarded somewhere it was never meant to be.

I'd never met them before, but from everything the Rangers had ever said to the public, I recognised them instantly.

"Zedd and Rita," I breathed.

The Black Ranger suddenly leaped past me on a course straight for the intruders, but Zedd raised his staff and blasted the Ranger away in a shower of sparks. As he climbed to his feet, the other Rangers raced around me to form a defensive line between me and the two supervillains, while the Black Ranger grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back.

"Back off Zedd," said the Red Ranger. "Today is not the day to try your luck."

"How did you find us?" the Pink Ranger demanded.

Zedd chuckled with smug amusement. "All this time," he began, "and you still never give us enough credit."

"Fools," Rita laughed. Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard, and it hurt my ears. "We've both lived on the moon long enough to track you anywhere you go in the galaxy," but she added under her breath, "most of the time. Unless Finster's invention breaks again."

The White Ranger raised Saba. "You're here for Tim?" he said.

"Because of the Skethani virus?" Rita asked, and leaned in close. "I can almost smell it on him! By the Destroyer, he is _pulsing_ with power!"

As one, the Rangers summoned their Power Weapons and held them at the ready. "You can't have him," said the Grey Ranger, his twin blasters fixed on Zedd's visor.

Zedd waved his hand dismissively. "Don't be absurd," he said. "We don't even want him! My darling wife Rita and I have played this game long enough to know that you've probably taken this boy under your sanctimonious wings while promising to keep him safe. Which means you'll turn every Heaven on every world upside down to protect him."

"In short, Rangers," Rita continued, spitting the word out like a curse, "we know when we'd be wasting our time."

"Besides," Zedd added, "to protect that pathetic boy, you'll probably have to kill a lot of people who, frankly, I'm happy to see killed. And if they get to you first? That's a win for us either way!"

"Um, thanks?" replied the Aqua Ranger.

Losing interest in the conversation, Rita turned to her husband. "Zeddy? Let's go shopping!" she exclaimed. "You never take me anywhere. Besides, I just remembered Finster is all out of duct-tape and nitro glycerine."

Losing his patience, the Red Ranger stepped forward, raising his sword high. "Enough games Zedd," he said. "What do you want?"

Zedd turned to the Red Ranger. "We just thought we'd drop by and say how much we missed you," he said. "Oh, but I hope you brought some insect repellent." With that, he and Rita chortled to themselves. "Goodbye Rangers!" Zedd said, and with a mocking salute, he and Rita teleported away. The clearing fell silent again, but it was a few minutes before I saw the Rangers relax.

The Black Ranger turned to me. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so," I said.

"What was that about?" the Yellow Ranger asked.

"I have no idea," the Red Ranger replied.

But I noticed the Aqua and Pink Rangers sharing concerned looks. "Did Zedd just say what I think he said?" the Aqua Ranger asked.

The Pink Ranger nodded. "Oh no," she said, and spun to her team-mates. "We have to get to the others. _Now_."

* * *

Leaving the archive building, Peter, Teresa, Sarah and Scott quickly made their way back through Chronopolis's quiet streets towards the city gates. It was very early in the morning and parts of the city were just starting to wake up. With no time for stealth, the Rangers passed more and more residents of the city, including half a dozen city guards on patrol, but brushed past them with short nods and polite greetings. It was actually darker now than before, and glancing skyward, the Rangers saw why. Thick clouds heavy with rain were drifting down over the city, blocking the stars and overtaking the faint golden glow on the horizon.

"Watch out," warned Teresa, as one of the city's silver vehicles approached from around a corner.

"Onto the pavement," said Peter, and the four teens stepped to the side to let the vehicle pass.

"We can't be far," said Sarah. "But these streets all look the same in the dark."

"The gate's only a couple of minutes away," Scott said, carrying the box of files. "I remember that big spire there on the left."

"Good job," Peter said.

But as they turned down a shadowy avenue between overhanging buildings, a strange clicking noise filled the air, the sound of metal claws scratching across uneven cobblestones. Peter held up his hand and brought them to a stop as a dark figure stepped out of the shadows. Even in the low light, they immediately saw that whatever the creature was, it wasn't human. Standing taller than Peter, the creature was covered head-to-toe in a mixture of thick bony shell and silver body armour. Protruding from the creature's back, two triangular wings were visible over its shoulders. A pair of twitching brown antenna rose over the creature's bulbous, insect eyes, while two silver claws jutted out from either side of the beast's pointed green proboscis.

"Rangerszzz," the creature hissed in the shadows. "I can zzzsee you."

The Rangers raised their arms defensively, while Scott stepped forward in shock. "Insectoid?" the Blue Ranger asked.

"You know this clown?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, he calls himself the Insectoid," Scott replied. "He's part insect, part cyborg. There's a whole colony of these guys, at least, there was. Brendan, Kim and I ran into him last year. I didn't think we'd see him again."

"It iszzz a day for surpriseszzz," the Insectoid droned. "I trust you're keeping the Skethani virus zzzsafe for me?"

"Bad news big guy," Sarah said. "The virus will destroy anything organic, and that's gotta be at least half of you."

"But once we have removed the viruszzz from itszzz host, our swarmszzz will arm themselves with it and use it to bring the galaxy to heel," the Insectoid replied. "The virus was a human creation, after all. Thusly it muszzzt be as flawed and malleable as the reszzzt of you."

"Well guess what?" Teresa began. "The host isn't here. You're wasting your time."

"We know," the Insectoid replied, and the Rangers could hear satisfaction in the creature's voice. "Instead we find four hostageszzz the Rangerszzz will happily trade the host for. A pleasing outcome either way, don't you agree?"

Teresa suddenly heard a faint buzzing noise in the shadows across the street. A quick glance spotted three of the Insectoid's foot-soldier drones creeping through the darkness towards them. "Guys," she said. "I've got three on my right."

"And three more on the left," Sarah added.

"There's a half dozen right behind us," Scott finished. "What do we do? We can't morph."

"We can't fight them here," Peter replied. "There are people sleeping in these buildings. We keep them on us and lead them out of the city. The gate's not far."

"So much for not attracting any attention," Teresa said.

Peter turned to her, remembering their earlier trip _into_ the city. "Because there's a lot more guards than normal, isn't there?" he asked, and quickly whispered a plan to the rest of the team.

"That is crazy and brilliant," Sarah smiled. "I knew there was a reason you were my second-favourite cousin."

" _Second_ -favourite?"

"Glen's parents have a pool."

"Oh, right."

"Enough of your babbling," snapped the Insectoid, and nodded to his drones. "Get them!"

The drones closed in, and Peter turned to his team-mates. "Okay Rangers," he said. "Swarm the insect!"

"Right!"

The Rangers charged forward, lowering their heads and thundering towards the Insectoid. The cybernetic insect froze in surprise as his prey raced towards him at full speed. At a loss, he fired a wave of stingers from his proboscis. But even as the street went up in sparks, Peter and Teresa took to the air, slamming their feet into the Insectoid's head with side-by-side high kicks. The creature staggered back as the two Rangers dropped to the ground and kept running, all without breaking stride. With the insects now behind them, the four Rangers raced away.

"Move move move!" shouted Sarah.

"After them!" the Insectoid shouted. His drones immediately buzzed around him. "They're trying to eszzzcape!"

With their hearts pounding and sounds of the chase echoing off the cobblestones, the Rangers sprinted through the city, past darkened houses and empty alleys as the drones gained ground behind them with every step. As the Rangers ran, more and more buildings were lighting up as their occupants woke because of the noise. Finally, the Rangers rounded a corner onto the main road out of Chronopolis. Racing past the field of sleeping cattle, they saw the gate stood firmly shut, while the swarm of cybernetic drones were only a few steps behind.

"Sarah!" Peter shouted, his breath ragged, "open the gate! We'll hold them off!"

"Got it!" Sarah replied, and dashed away towards the gatehouse.

By now the Rangers had reached the fortified wall protecting the city. With two of the drones behind her, Teresa ducked instinctively as they lunged towards her, before spinning around and kicking high to catch one of them on the chest. She dropped to the ground and found her footing as the second drone attacked, but grabbed its arm and used the creature's own momentum to throw it off its feet. A few metres away, Peter dived to safety over one of the drones. Rolling to his feet, he kicked high and forced a second drone back with a metallic clang. Two more swarmed around him, and he dodged a punch before stepping around a low kick, doing his best to keep out of range. Still holding the archives box, Scott stepped around a high kick, but one of the drones caught him with a low punch that sent him sprawling to the ground. Peter and Teresa immediately raced over to help him to his feet as the drones closed in.

Over in the gatehouse, the two guards turned to each other in surprise as sounds of the fight began to reach them.

"What on Dhalia is going on out there?" the younger of the two asked.

"I'll check it out," nodded the senior guard. He stood up and pulled the door open to find Sarah standing before him.

"Sorry," Sarah frowned, dropping the guard with a powerful right hook before slamming the younger guard off his feet with a high kick. "Fate of the Universe and all. Zordon will cover your hospital bills." Glancing around the inside of the gatehouse, she was relieved to quickly find the button marked 'gate lock'. "Bingo."

Outside, the wall shook and groaned as the enormous locking mechanism fell away and the giant gate began to swing open.

"Sarah did it!" Peter said. "C'mon!"

Stumbling and ducking to avoid incoming attacks, the three Rangers ran towards the gate. Once they'd reunited with Sarah, the four teens raced out of the city. Watching from afar, the Insectoid angrily buzzed towards his drones, and he quickly followed the Rangers out of Chronopolis. But after only a few paces, the swarm of cybernetic insects came to a stop.

Standing on the street between two of the enormous trees that lined the road were Peter and Scott, the Blue Ranger a few steps behind and still carrying the box of records. Neither of them made any attempt to flee.

"Foolish Rangerszzz," the Insectoid began. He almost sounded disappointed. "Foolish and szzzadly predictable. All of that was juszzzt to lead my droneszzz and I away from the population of Chronopoliszzz? How noble."

"Not quite," Peter said, and smiled. "It turns out we can set traps too."

Back in the gatehouse, the second guard opened his eyes and gazed around the room. "Where did our guns go?" he asked.

"Teresa! Sarah! _Now!_ " Peter shouted. The girls stepped out of hiding from behind the trees, each holding a pair of laser pistols aimed for the Insectoid and his drones. At point blank range they couldn't have missed, and the road erupted in sparks and smoke.

"Nice shooting," Peter said, when one of the drones appeared only a few metres away.

"Catch!" Teresa called, and threw him one of the blasters.

Peter caught the weapon, jammed it into the drone's chest and fired, blasting the creature back in a blaze of fire. Keeping their opponents at bay, the Rangers backed further and further away from the city.

"They're not morphers," Sarah said, forcing two of the drones behind a nearby barn, "but they'll do for now."

"It sure beats kicking them in the head," said Teresa.

"We should at least make it back to the Phoenix zord," Peter said. "Provided we can..."

The Insectoid suddenly emerged from the smoke cloud. Peter turned to fire but the cyborg sent a volley of stingers whistling towards him, destroying the blaster and forcing Peter to throw it away.

"Damn it," Peter said, shaking his hand.

Two of the drones leaped down before him, but before Teresa could fire, Ian jumped past Peter, throwing the first drone back with a high kick. As the creature fell, Brendan appeared on the other side, taking the second drone's legs out from under it and catching it with a kick as it fell. The six Rangers quickly regrouped in the centre of the road as the Insectoid pulled the drones back.

"Miss us?" Ian asked.

"We are glad to see you," Peter said.

"Finally, trouble you can't blame us for," Brendan grinned.

"How'd you know we needed you?" asked Scott, as he stowed the box of records safely off the road.

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you," Brendan replied.

"And check it out," Ian continued. "We brought presents," and the boys held up four morphers, their Power Coins shining brightly in the low light.

The Rangers threw aside the blasters and reached for their morphers. "All right," Peter said. "This'll even the odds. It's morphin' time!"

"Iguanodon!" shouted Ian, and the Grey Ranger suit wrapped around him.

"Dilophosaurus!" said Brendan, as a wave of aqua light washed over him.

"Rhamphorynchus!" continued Sarah, morphing into the Purple Ranger.

"Brontosaurus!" added Scott, and he was lost in a blaze of blue light.

"Velociraptor!" called Teresa, as the White Ranger suit appeared around her.

"Stegosaurus!" finished Peter. In a flash of orange light, he was ready for battle. Now morphed, the six Rangers faced down the Insectoid and his drones.

"Humanszzz," buzzed the Insectoid in irritation. "Everything muszzzt be difficult. Bring in the waspszzz!"

Loud buzzing filled the air, and the Rangers looked up to see three gigantic wasp-shaped ships descending from the clouds. Easily the size of houses, the cybernetic wasps had red eyes, green angular wings and cockpits on top of their heads, with weapons mounted on both their bodies and their curved tail sections. The Rangers were just wondering what else the Insectoid had brought when the ground began shaking, and a praying mantis the size of a semi-trailer climbed over a nearby hill, its giant red eyes glowing malevolently.

"Wow, Zedd wasn't kidding," Brendan murmured.

"Get them!" screamed the Insectoid. "Deszzztroy them all!"

Sarah reached for her blade blaster. "Mantis," she called.

"Wasps," said Ian, summoning his Power Blasters with a thought.

"Wasps," added Brendan.

"Then we'll take the drones," Peter said. "Go!"

As the drones closed in, they raised their arms and hooked metal talons slid into place, extending from their wrists. Now armed, the cybernetic drones carved the blades towards their opponents. Peter dived over a wide slice, rolling to his feet and blocking a sharp lunge from a second opponent. He sent the beast stumbling with a powerful strike to the chest, before ducking instinctively as the first drone swung again. Spinning around to face the beast, he blocked a low kick and struck the drone away with a blow to the stomach, before taking to the air and sending two more crashing with a high spinning kick.

Behind him, Teresa stepped around a low slice, catching the creature's wrist and launching it into a second, taking them both to the ground. Glancing to the hooked blades on their arms, the White Ranger summoned her Power Whip with a thought and cracked the weapon at the feet of her enemies to keep them away. Two of the drones suddenly charged towards her, but she sent one of the beasts crashing with a jump kick. Finding her footing, she wrapped the trailing end of her whip around the second drone's legs and flung him to the ground, before cracking the whip at the remaining drones and forcing them to keep their distance.

A few metres away, Scott dropped low to avoid one of the drones as it raked its talons for his helmet. Spinning around, he took the soldier's legs out from under it before leaping to his feet. A second drone fell towards him, but he caught the drone's arm and threw it into a third, downing them both in a screech of tangled limbs. A fourth drone carved his blades for the Blue Ranger in a wide slice, but Scott summoned his Power Staff in a flash and blocked the blades in a shower of sparks before striking the drone away.

Further along the road, Ian was racing along the street and firing at the hovering wasps as the three ships returned fire. He scored a direct hit on the closest wasp but dived behind a barn as the other two targeted him, the blasts scorching through the air towards him. One of the wasps zoomed low, and Ian took to the air as the ground where he'd been standing erupted behind him. Regaining his footing, he fired wildly, keeping their attention on him. The three wasps easily dodged his shots, but the closest wasp was now only metres above the roof of the barn.

"Close enough?" Ian asked into his communicator.

"Perfect!" shouted Brendan.

Racing across the roof of the barn, the Aqua Ranger leaped into the air towards the hovering wasp. The battle flashed beneath him, and his twin Power Sai appeared in his hands as he landed between the eyes of the giant wasp. Before the cybernetic pilot could respond, Brendan smashed the viewscreen and jammed his sai down through the pilot's control panel. The console erupted, the whole wasp shaking in midair. But Brendan held on, grabbing the ship's pilot and throwing the creature out of the ship. Reaching for his blade-blaster, Brendan shot out the wings of the other two ships before somersaulting to safety. He touched down a second later, as the three destroyed wasps crashed to the ground around him.

Back on the slope of the hill, Sarah had charged towards the giant praying mantis. Sitting in the cockpit between the robot's eyes, the pilot took no chances and fired a barrage at the approaching Purple Ranger. But Sarah had already closed the distance between them, and as the robot slashed one of its razor-sharp pincers for her, she used her blaster to slice the limb clean off. With the mantis's weaponry still firing, she rolled to safety and sprang to her feet, taking out the two remaining legs before leaping into the air. Landing on the mantis's neck, she launched the pilot clear of the cockpit with a powerful kick, before using her blaster to slice through the two hind legs on the other side. As she jumped down onto the grass, the entire cybernetic mantis fell apart behind her.

The six Rangers regrouped in the field beside the road. "Bugs squashed," Sarah said, and high-fived Brendan.

"Good work," Peter said.

Across the field, the limping and broken drones retreated behind the Insectoid, who buzzed angrily as his cybernetic troops fell in line behind him. "We are not done yet Rangerszzz!" the Insectoid shouted.

"Actually, you kind of are," said Teresa, and pointed to the dozens of Chronopolis city guards now lining the wall, all armed with powerful cannons.

"Now!" the senior-most guard called, and the army opened fire. The sky lit up as the blasts slammed into what was left of the Insectoid's army. The whole field shook with the barrage, and the Insectoid gazed around frantically for an escape as more cannon fire whistled down towards him.

"You will see uszzz again!" the cybernetic insect screeched. Raising his arm, he tapped a button on his wrist pad, and the insects around him teleported away in a flash of light, disappearing into the shadows.

Scott reached for the box of records. It had remained protected where he'd left it before the fight. "Let's not wait for them to come back," he said.

"Did you find something that'll help Tim?" Ian asked.

Peter nodded. "Our next stop is the planet Nerimos," he replied. "Let's get out of here," and the Rangers raced away into the forest.

 _To be continued._

* * *

 _Author's notes - Just a quick note, one of the things I was most proud of, with_ The Impossible Boy _, was that the action scenes just keep on escalating and escalating as the story rolls on. We went from the frenzied close-combat in the museum, to Zeus_ blowing a fleet out of spaceships out of the sky with his thunderbolts _, to Brendan and Ian taking down a swarm of wasps and Sarah killing a zord-sized opponent, just with their blade blasters. I promise that the big climactic battle scene (in a couple of chapters' time) is even bigger and louder and more epic. Meanwhile, next chapter? Tim only has a day left to live, and once he learns that_ another _galaxy-level supervillain is now gunning for him? He doesn't take the news well. See you then :). ~ P._


	11. Chapter 11

_Author's notes -_ Whitebeard _, I know how much you love Count Dregon, but I'm afraid, no, the Insectoid is another original villain of mine (who I thought would go well, in this story). There are a lot of insect-themed villains running around the PRU, though, aren't there? :)_ Jokermask _, I'm glad you liked the Rita/Zedd cameos :). Ernie gets namedropped in chapter nine, and Zordon and Alpha appeared in a couple of earlier scenes, but I couldn't write an epic PR story and ignore Zedd and Rita. I find that the more I write Rita and (in particular) Zedd, the more interesting they are, as characters. For instance, Zedd only pops up in this story to warn the Rangers about the Insectoid. Zedd doesn't really care about the Rangers, he just wanted to gloat about their predicament and show them that they needed his help, in this situation. Zedd doesn't like the Rangers (at least, not in a conventional way), but I think, by this point, he and Rita at least respect the Rangers and what they're capable of. But they also like just messing with them for the heck of it._

 _Tim has two quiet moments in this chapter, one with Peter the Orange Ranger, and one with Kim. The scene with Kim was one of my favourite scenes to write, and it needed very little editing or changing (sometimes, you can just get something right the first time. That's always a joy). The conversation with Pete was originally very different (and involved nothing more than the two characters sitting together having a quiet conversation). But one of my favourite comic book authors (_ Mark Waid _, for the record) once said, "_ don't be afraid to bruise the apples _." In a stressful situation, the characters_ should _be a little upset, and a dramatic, tense exchange is so much more interesting, for both the reader and the author. It was good advice._

 _That said, enjoy chapter 11! :)_

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven**

After conferring with their team-mates, I watched as the Grey and Aqua Rangers dashed off into the forest, following the path back to Chronopolis. A few minutes later, I saw two bright flashes of light. Guessing what they were, I asked the other Rangers why the two needed to demorph ("If everything is still going as planned, they'll have to sneak back into the city as regular kids," the Yellow Ranger explained). Meanwhile, the six Rangers who'd stayed behind quickly packed up the camp, stowing everything inside the Phoenix and pouring water over the campfire.

All of a sudden, the sound of explosions rocked the countryside, shattering the stillness of the early morning. I looked around worriedly but couldn't see any immediate danger. Following the other Rangers, I climbed onto the roof of the Phoenix for a better view.

Down in the valley, a battle was being fought outside the city walls of Chronopolis, beside the farms we'd all walked past yesterday. I squinted my eyes as three flying craft descended from the clouds. We were a fair distance away, but in the light from the city, they didn't look like anything other than giant insects. Before long, they were joined by an enormous praying mantis.

"That's not good," murmured the Pink Ranger.

As we watched silently, all four vehicles were soon destroyed in bursts of flame. After one final explosion, the valley fell silent. Climbing off the zord, we made our way back to the ground.

"Finish packing," the Red Ranger called. "We have to be ready to go as soon as they get back."

It felt like we'd been waiting forever but may have only been a few minutes when the junior team of Rangers returned to camp. I hung back by the Phoenix as the senior team ran down to greet them. Above us, the sun had just started to peek above the horizon, but it was still dark and quiet thanks to the clouds.

"You guys okay?" the Red Ranger asked. "We saw the fight."

"We're good," the Orange Ranger replied. "Made it back in one piece."

"So it's definitely the Insectoid?" asked the Pink Ranger.

"Unfortunately, yeah," replied the Aqua Ranger. "And he brought a few friends this time."

"Grey and Aqua told us about Rita and Zedd on the way back," said the younger Blue Ranger.

The girl White Ranger nodded. "I have given up trying to make sense of those two," she said. "I really have."

"Wait a second," I began, and they all turned to me as if they'd once again forgotten I was there. "Who's this Insectoid guy?"

"A cybernetic insect creature," the younger Blue Ranger explained. "He hates all humans and wants insects to take over the galaxy."

"He said to us in the city that he thinks he can use the virus to do it," said the Purple Ranger.

"But you guys fought him and destroyed his army, right?" I asked. "I mean, that's what all those explosions were."

"Yeah," the Orange Ranger said. "But from the sounds of it, he's got more coming."

"What?" I said, and staggered back as if struck by an invisible assailant. "You're telling me there's now a _third_ galaxy-level supervillain who wants to kill me? Because of this thing in me?!" and I thumped my chest for effect.

"Look, it's gonna be okay," said the Black Ranger.

"No it's not!" I shot back. "I don't know what your definition of okay is, but this is the exact opposite of that!"

"You're gonna be all right," said the Grey Ranger.

"That is so easy for you to say!" I shouted. "You said we'd be safe here and we're not! I've got three armies coming to kill me! Why not four? Why not a dozen? Hell, why not a hundred?"

"Keep your voice down," the Purple Ranger said. "They're coming for us..."

"They're coming for _me_!" I replied. "What the hell do we do now? I just, I can't, I, I can't..." and my voice trailed off as I gazed around the group. It was like they'd been stunned into silence. "This is too much to deal with," I murmured. "I have to get out of here," and with no clue where I was going, I turned and ran around the side of the Phoenix.

"Tim!" the Red Ranger shouted. "Come back!"

Brendan glanced to his team-mates. "That went well," he said.

"It's not safe here," said Teresa. "The Insectoid will be back any second."

Just then, a light rain began to fall, and the Rangers looked up and around.

"Teresa's right," said Ian. "Even with the clouds, we're not gonna stay hidden for long."

"I'll go get him," said Peter, then turned to Scott and the box of files. "Tell them everything we found," he continued. "I'll go find Tim," and he jogged after me.

"Will you be right?" asked Jason.

"Yeah, I got this," Peter said. "I think."

Following me around the zord, the Orange Ranger soon found me under the Phoenix's outstretched wing, protected from the rain and walking in circles near the edge of the lake. I looked up as the Orange Ranger approached, but didn't say anything and kept pacing. The Orange Ranger watched me for a long time before finally glancing over his shoulder to the zord.

"We're gonna be leaving soon," he said.

"Good for you," I replied angrily.

"Tim, it's okay if you're upset."

I spun towards him and fixed him with a glare. It might've been my imagination, but I'm sure he shrank back. "This insect guy?" I began. "Is he scary? As bad as the other two?"

The Orange Ranger hesitated for a few seconds before replying. "Yeah," he admitted. "Maybe even worse."

I heard the honesty in his voice and it did nothing to calm me down. "So I have three armies coming for me?" I asked. "The Insectoid, General Skull and princess Automica..."

"Priestess," he corrected absent-mindedly.

He knew in a second that he'd said the wrong thing, but as he stepped back, I followed after him. Before I knew what I was doing, I slammed my hands into his shoulders. It was like hitting a brick wall. He barely flinched, while it almost felt like I'd broken my wrists.

"No!" I shouted. "You do not get to correct me!" I angrily wiped at the tears streaming down my face. "I'm going to die, here or on some other world, a million miles away from home! I'm never gonna see my family, my friends, or my hometown ever again, and the best you can offer is 'priestess'?!"

"Look, I get it," the Orange Ranger replied. "But c'mon. You shouldn't give up hope. We're doing everything we can to..."

"Did you?" I shot back. "At the museum, did you? If this stupid thing was so friggin' dangerous, why the hell was it ever there in the first place? But you guys decided to just walk into the museum one morning and pick it up? Did you stop in the damn gift shop?"

"We are watched, everywhere we go," the Orange Ranger said hotly. "If we'd just stormed the museum with guns blazing, it would've attracted the wrong kind of attention. The virus, if it even was the virus, I mean, at that point we weren't sure, but the virus is dangerous. We couldn't risk anybody getting hurt."

"Great plan!" I shouted. "Brilliant plan! It's in _me_ now! You gambled my life on this and you _lost_!" I turned and pointed to one of the cliffs, overlooking the lake and glowing with the distant rays of the morning sun. "The only reason I haven't already climbed that and jumped is because you said me dying would make the virus even more dangerous."

The Orange Ranger looked away and I kicked a stone into the lake. With nothing else to say, I sat down on a log near the water's edge as the rain started to come down heavier than before. After a long time, the Orange Ranger sat down beside me, and he said the two words I never expected him to say.

"I'm sorry," he whispered

I barely heard him over the rain. "You're... what?"

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "You're right. You're absolutely right. We went into the museum thinking that we'd be able to deal with whatever happened and that nobody would get caught in the crossfire. We took a gamble and we lost. We screwed this one up badly."

I sighed, and felt all the fight rush out of me like a balloon deflating. "No kidding," I said. "Now I'm the guy caught between three armies, with the most dangerous weapon in the galaxy stuck inside me that's gonna kill me _anyway_ even if nobody else does." I paused, and took a couple of deep breaths. "I'm sorry for yelling before."

"It's okay. How are your hands?"

"They're fine."

He leaned in close. "We meant what we told you back at the museum," he said. "We _can_ fix this. We're the Power Rangers. We can do anything."

I met his gaze. "Can you promise me that I'll live?" I asked bluntly. "Can you promise me that nobody ever dies and this'll all turn out okay? Can you honestly look me in the eyes and tell me that?"

He looked away and sighed sadly. I watched as his shoulders slumped forward, heavy with painful memories. For the first time in two days, it felt like I was looking at the boy underneath, rather than the superhero. "No," he said eventually. "No I can't."

"I heard Hephaestus back on Olympus," I continued, "telling you that getting this out of me is impossible. The high priestess said the same thing at the museum, and the Lord Chancellor just about admitted it yesterday. You're asking me to trust you to do something that everyone says can't be done. I'm sorry, man, but I don't think I've got that left in me, not now."

The Orange Ranger nodded. "Can I tell you what you do have?" he asked. "You have good people on your side. You have smart, strong people in your corner. Maybe it doesn't feel like it, and I know you're facing something scary and overwhelming, but I promise we are on your side. Having good people in your corner is one of the best things you can ever hope to have. Now I know my friends, and I know they are gonna figure this out. All I'm asking is that, for the next day, you trust that we can do the impossible. Just for another day. You are not alone in this, okay? _That_ is something I can promise."

I looked out over the lake. "I think I can do that," I said.

"Good," he replied, and offered me his hand. "Because we need to go." He helped me to my feet and we walked around to the other side of the zord. The Rangers had packed up camp while we'd been talking, and everybody was waiting outside for me. The rain was coming down in driving sheets now, and I shivered under the weight of their gazes.

"Everything okay?" the girl White Ranger asked.

"Yeah, um, thanks," I said. "I bet you've never seen someone have a nervous breakdown on another planet before."

"It's okay," said the Purple Ranger kindly. "Worse things happen at sea, and all."

"Thermonuclear war," offered the younger Blue Ranger. "Planetary-level extinction events. Swarms of homicidal flower blossoms."

"Demonic possession," added the male White Ranger. "That's a bad one."

"Never mind a supervillain impersonating your date to the school dance," said the Black Ranger.

I tilted my head. "That actually happens?" I asked.

The elder Blue Ranger nodded sadly. "More often than you'd think," he replied.

With that, the Rangers climbed back into the Phoenix. The girl White Ranger took my hand and led me up the ramp. Once everyone was safely inside, the Pink Ranger stepped into the cockpit, closed the hatches and began switching the zord's systems on. I sat down in one of the chairs and buckled myself in when an alarm sounded, blaring through the inside of the robot. The viewscreen windows flashed to life.

"What is it?" the Red Ranger asked.

"Guys, we've been found," the Pink Ranger called. "They're here!"

As the outside view came into focus, my heart sank. Emerging from the rainstorm were half a dozen giant wasps, flying over the mountain with their wings buzzing behind them. Immediately below them, the ground was shaking, and we watched as three enormous praying mantises sliced through the trees, reaching the clearing and coming to a stop.

"Other side!" shouted the Black Ranger.

We turned to look. Stepping out of the forest on the other side of the zord was the high priestess Automica, with her ten remaining bishops beside her. But behind them was easily a hundred more robots, all with eyes flashing red. As Automica reached the clearing, she caught sight of the army of giant cybernetic insects, and the robots behind her came to a stop.

"They tracked us here from Earth," I murmured. "We've gotta get out of here."

I was about to continue when another alarm sounded, blaring even more urgently. As one, everyone in the cabin unclasped our seat buckles and tried to crowd into the cockpit where there was only room for about four people. The Pink Ranger pointed to the monitor on her right.

"You can't see them," she said, nodding to the clouds above us, "but there's a fleet of skullships approaching from deep space. They're descending towards us right now." She glanced around the group. "They've found us. They've all found us. What do we do now?"

I glanced out the windows to the robots on one side, the cybernetic insects on the other, and the menacing shapes of black skullships approaching through the clouds. So far, the standoff continued, with nobody wanting to be the first to make a move. I couldn't imagine how long that'd last, but it certainly wouldn't be for much longer.

"Don't you have any firepower on this thing?" I asked.

The Black Ranger nodded. "Plenty, but not enough for three armies," he said.

"Besides," the Yellow Ranger added. "We're wasting time we don't have. We can't risk a battle."

The younger Blue Ranger pushed past his team-mates towards the Pink Ranger. "I've got an idea," he said, reaching for the radio. "Can you put me on speaker? I need you to patch me through to everyone."

The Pink Ranger hit a switch beside the microphone, and the light beside it flashed green. "It's all yours," she said.

The younger Blue Ranger nodded. Taking a second to catch his breath, he raised the microphone to his helmet. "Good morning!" he said loudly, and we could hear his voice broadcasting outside the Phoenix, echoing over the noise of the rain. "To our dear friends the Insectoid, General Skull, and the high priestess Automica, we welcome you to Dhalia! But let's not waste time," and he glanced around the group before continuing. "We know why you're here, and you all know what we have onboard. You all want to use the Skethani virus for your own ends. But, and this is the part I don't understand, you must have realised there's only one virus, and you know as well as we do that once it's finished charging, it'll only obey a single master."

He paused, letting his words sink in. He caught my eye and I flashed him a thumbs up. None of our opponents had attacked yet, or given any indication that they would. Whatever he was doing, it was working.

"I'm sure you all think you can go through us to get to the virus, otherwise you wouldn't be here," the Blue Ranger continued. "But let me ask you something. Are you willing to bet you can get past the other two? What if they've already allied against you?" He paused, and I could hear him smiling beneath his helmet. " _What if they get here first_?"

Silence fell, and the Blue Ranger replaced the microphone on the zord's console.

"Did it work?" I asked.

The sky lit up, the shadows of the forest vanishing in the glare. The Pink Ranger pointed to the clouds. "Look!" she shouted.

An orbital bombardment whistled down from the skullship immediately over us, aimed for the army of robots on one side and the cybernetic insects on the other. Flames and sparks erupted around us as the giant insects fired on the hovering skullship, before turning and attacking Automica for good measure. The entire mountain shook with the back-and-forth as the three armies continued firing at one another.

"Brilliant," said the Red Ranger, clapping the younger Blue Ranger on the back.

"That won't give us much time," warned the Black Ranger, as a second skullship appeared above us and began firing at Automica's forces.

"But it'll buy us enough," said the Grey Ranger. "Let's go!"

The Pink Ranger grabbed the controls. "Hold on," she said, and we crashed to the floor as the Phoenix lifted off. Blasts continued to whistle down around us as the zord aimed for the sky. A second later, we shot up into the clouds, the Pink Ranger deftly piloting us around the incoming blasts from the fleet of skullships high above the mountain. Before long, the atmosphere had fallen away. As we picked ourselves up, we looked out to see the stars hidden behind hundreds of hovering skullships.

"Nerimos?" asked the Pink Ranger.

"Nerimos!" shouted the Orange Ranger.

The stars blurred past us as the zord shot into space, leaving the planet Dhalia far behind it. Once we reached the safety of deep space, everyone gathered in the cabin to talk strategy. The Orange, Blue, White and Purple Rangers continued to share everything they'd discovered in the Chronopolis archives, before showing us the records they'd smuggled out of the city. The older Blue and Yellow Rangers seemed particularly interested in the information their team-mates had collected on the abandoned base that seemed to be our next destination.

"At least we know why the Lord Chancellor lied to us," said the Red Ranger.

"He probably had a good reason," ventured the girl White Ranger.

"But he should've been honest with us from the start," said the Black Ranger.

The Grey Ranger turned to his team-mates. "Did you guys steal all this?" he asked.

"We needed it more than they did," replied the Orange Ranger. "And we can take it back to them provided we live through the next twenty-four hours." He winced when he realised what he'd said, and he turned to me. "Sorry," he said.

"Super helpful," said the Purple Ranger.

I sagged back against one of the seats. "I've got less than a day," I said. "And we're gonna lose half of that just getting there. Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Affirmative," replied the elder Blue Ranger. "I've reverse-engineered far more complicated technology than a simple nanotech virus, although to be fair, not on such a limited time frame. But if I can just see where the virus was created, it'll be our biggest clue how to destroy it."

"We'll get there with time to spare," the Red Ranger said, resting a gloved hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry."

I stepped around and into the Phoenix's cockpit where I was alone but for the Pink Ranger. I realised that, with all the travelling I'd done so far, I'd still never been inside the zord's cockpit, and I marvelled at the array of blinking lights, switches and buttons on all sides.

The Pink Ranger turned to see me standing there in awe. "Seriously?" she began. "It's mostly just for the stereo." I laughed as she hit the 'autopilot' button and swivelled around to face me. "It'll be a short trip," she explained, reading my mind from my face. "Nerimos isn't that far from Dhalia, at least, not in terms of the general distance between planets. We're following a trade route, so it should be an easy journey."

"We won't run into anybody?" I asked.

She shook her head. "All deep space vessels have to log their trips ahead of time," she said. "We don't have to, obviously, but we can access that system easily enough. For instance, in a few hours, we'll pass by a tourist and trade ship running between the two planets. Because of the sheer size of space, we'll miss it by the length of a dozen solar systems, but we can avoid them either way."

"To protect them from me?" I asked. "From this horrible thing inside me?"

The Pink Ranger laughed softly. "To protect you from them," she said. "That virus is only getting more and more powerful. It makes you an easy target on any interstellar radar, put it like that."

"Wait a second," I began. "Back at the museum," and I had to pause. Was that only two days ago? It felt like forever. "Back then, you didn't take me to your Command Centre because the Red Ranger said you couldn't risk it. But you weren't talking about the risk to your base, were you? You meant the risk to _me_."

"Once the virus infected you, we didn't really know what it might do," she said. "If it saw you were inside our base, it might've decided to consume you faster than it otherwise would've. We couldn't take the chance."

"So that was to keep me safe," I said. "I'm getting that's a big part of what you guys do."

"Can I tell you something?" the Pink Ranger asked.

"Of course."

"I had the option of leaving, a couple of years ago," she began. "One of the reasons I stayed, I think, was that I realised something. If you take all the monsters out of the equation, if you take out all the demons and mutants and aliens and things from beyond space and time, you still have a world where horrible things are happening every minute of every day, to good people who don't deserve them." She paused, and when she continued, I heard her voice break behind her visor. "Someone _has_ to care. There just, there has to be someone who gives a damn. Because otherwise, nobody does. And to guarantee that, you know, I am more than happy to rest the weight of the world on my shoulders."

"Wow."

She leaned back and decided to change the subject. "Want to know something cool?" she asked.

I smiled. "Always."

She gestured to the stars outside. "Nobody on Earth has ever seen those stars from _here_ ," she said. "There is not one single astronomer on Earth who wouldn't commit a laundry list of serious crimes for the chance to be sitting where you're sitting, right now. I always think of that and it makes me laugh."

I gazed out the window at the stars we were passing. "You should charge for trips," I joked.

"We actually did think about that," she said. "Donate the money to charity, maybe. But as you can imagine, we tend to attract trouble. We didn't want to risk it."

"You know the one thing I regret about all this?" I asked.

"What?"

"When we were leaving Earth, I didn't get the chance to turn around and look at the planet," I said. "We were in such a hurry to get away from General Skull and Automica that I missed it. Almost every astronaut who's ever left Earth and looked back has said that it was a life-changing experience, and I can't believe I missed it."

The Pink Ranger was quiet for a minute, and then she leaned forward and rested her hands on my knees. "Then that's a damn good reason to get you home, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said softly. "It is."

Thanking the Pink Ranger for her kind words, I stepped back into the cabin. The Rangers were still going over all the information we'd gotten from Chronopolis. Suddenly tired, I had something to eat and settled down in one of the seats at the back of the cabin. I'd only slept about six hours ago, but I figured the virus was taking a lot more out of me than before. I tried to stay awake as long as I could, but after a few minutes, I felt everything getting blurry, and I was soon fast asleep.

Unlike the trip from Earth to Dhalia, the nightmares this time struck me with all the force of Zeus's thunderbolts. No matter what happened, I couldn't wake up or escape. I was running, hunted by a monstrous predator that needed neither food nor rest. I watched the stars go out, and I saw the world consumed by fire and hate and death, until I was standing on a rocky lifeless plain. Everywhere I looked were skulls and bones, baking in the heat of a burning red sun. Suddenly the sun was extinguished by an omnipresent shadow, and I was swallowed up by a cold, empty darkness, vanishing into a void of infinite black. With a terrified scream, I woke up, leaping out of my seat, gasping for air. As I regained my senses and my heartbeat returned to normal, I realised the entire team of Rangers were standing around me.

"Are you okay?" asked the Red Ranger. "We were worried."

"Bad dreams," I murmured. I held up my hand and it was still shaking. "Whatever this thing is inside me, it's not happy. I could feel it. It's getting angrier."

The girl White Ranger jogged over to one of the food lockers and returned with a glass of water which I gratefully gulped down.

The Yellow Ranger glanced to her team-mates. "The Skethani virus must be growing stronger," she said.

"Yeah," said the Orange Ranger, turning to me. "I don't want to freak you out or anything, but for a second there, when you woke up? Your eyes were glowing."

"Not to state the obvious, but this had better work," said the Black Ranger. "Because we are running out of time."

 _To be continued._


	12. Chapter 12

_Author's notes - With chapter 12, you get a chance to stop and take a deep breath before the climactic battle scene. Tim gets to share a quiet moment with both Sarah and Scott in this chapter, and readers who've been paying attention will realise the only Ranger Tim hasn't spent any time with yet is Trini. The Rangers here end up on the planet Nerimos, a planet that the team first visited in_ Power _, which was all the way back as the second story I ever wrote in the series.  
_

 _Enjoy chapter 12 :)._

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve**

"Guys," came the Pink Ranger's voice. "We're here! Check it out!"

Everyone dashed into the cockpit, or at least, we tried to before jamming into each other in the corridor outside. The Pink Ranger glanced over her shoulder. "Hang on," she said, and hit a switch on the console.

The viewscreens flashed to life, and we looked over to one side as the planet Nerimos appeared before us with several small moons visible around it. I gazed down over the planet with surprise. Unlike Dhalia or photos I'd seen of Earth, there was little atmosphere and seemingly few clouds over the planet. Nerimos's surface was mostly unhealthy-looking shades of yellow and brown, while the darker patches I assumed were oceans were a sickly green colour.

"It doesn't look healthy," I said.

Beside me, the Black Ranger shook his head. "It's not," he said. "Most of Nerimos is barren desert. It was one of the first planets we ever visited."

"The good news at least," added the Yellow Ranger, "is that it's mostly deserted."

"That definitely counts in our favour," said the younger Blue Ranger.

"So where is this place?" asked the Purple Ranger.

"I'm just punching in the coordinates you found on Chronopolis," the Pink Ranger called. "Hang on, I've got it. We'll be there soon. Strap yourselves in."

We sat down and the zord began its descent. Without much of an atmosphere, the view as we approached was a lot less spectacular, and I watched as the sky slowly grew brighter and brighter as the stars faded away.

The male White Ranger turned to the elder Blue Ranger beside him. "You're sure about this?" the White Ranger asked.

"I'm aware we don't have much time," the Blue Ranger began. "But there were no answers on Dhalia. The virus was created on this planet in a laboratory somewhere below. The original team of scientists must've contained it somehow while working on it or testing it. The equipment to transform it to its inert state has to be here. If I can just see it, I can get it working again. I'm sure of it."

"And that's the plan?" I asked.

The Blue Ranger turned to me. "At the moment it's the only idea I have," he replied. "But it's imperative we locate that scientific installation."

"You mean that one?" asked the Orange Ranger, pointing out the window.

We all turned to look. Far below but rapidly growing closer was a wide, sandy plain that stretched for kilometres, ending at the base of a range of tall cliffs. There was nothing but sand and rock as far as the eye could see, no signs of life, water or vegetation. But in the distance over near one of the cliffs was a small cluster of buildings. As we approached, I could see that some of the smaller buildings had crumbled to rubble, but the largest building in the centre of the complex was still standing. The building was wide and low-set, and the remains of what had once been a wide array of antennas and radar dishes sat on the roof. The building was unremarkable, but from a distance, it still looked solid. As we got closer, I could see a familiar clockwork design on the walls and roof.

"There's the symbol of Chronopolis," I said, pointing to the complex.

A few minutes later, the Phoenix touched down on the desert plain. We stood up as the ramp lowered to the ground, and the Pink Ranger stepped into the cabin.

"Let's go," she said.

We stepped out into the desert. The heat immediately washed over me, suffocating me like a blanket. Even the air felt sickly here, and the light was greasy and dirty. As we headed for the complex, I noticed the Rangers automatically forming a circle around me, but I couldn't imagine what they were protecting me from. The plain was unsettlingly empty. There was no noise but our footsteps. There was no wind, no animal calls or birds, and no sounds of life or civilisation. It was just empty.

"What happened here?" I asked. "Has it always been like this?"

Walking beside me, the Purple Ranger shook her head. "A long time ago," she began, "Nerimos was the centre of a galaxy-spanning empire. The capital was this huge city on a continent in the planet's southern hemisphere. One day, a whole heap of bad guys allied together to attack Nerimos all at once, and the empire fell apart."

"Wow," I said.

"Various forces drained the broken empire of everything it had left," she continued, "and left the planet as an empty husk. See?" and she pointed to one of the cliffs in the distance. Shielding my eyes from the glare, I could just make out the crumbling remains of what had once been a towering fortress. It might've looked impressive a thousand years ago, but now it was little more than broken stone.

"It's such a tragedy," the Purple Ranger said. "This place was probably amazing, once upon a time, and it's all been lost forever."

"I get it," I said. "This is why you guys do what you do, right? So this doesn't happen to Earth?"

"Coming here always makes me feel small," the Purple Ranger said. "But not in a bad way, I don't think. Sometimes I think of my parents or my brother or my friends, and I just want to show them places like Nerimos or Dhalia and say, 'Look at this! Look at everything we have to lose!' But then I think, they probably wouldn't get it. And Zordon wouldn't like us dragging people halfway across the galaxy."

"I suppose Dhalia and Nerimos are two sides of the same coin," I said. "All possible futures."

"Exactly," the Purple Ranger replied, and I could hear her smiling under her helmet. "Exactly! Do we head into space, or down into the dirt?" and she kicked at a stone. "Everything depends on what we do as people. But I think that's why I like coming here."

"You do?"

"Yeah. It's a reminder of what's at stake," she said. "And it makes me realise that when you lose some things, you can't get them back."

"Do you ever think the job will be over one day?" I asked. "That maybe there'll be a time when the world doesn't need you anymore?"

"I used to," she admitted. "But I haven't for a long time. It's not cynical, it's just, there's always a nutjob in the crowd somewhere. Always. If there wasn't, then people wouldn't be people. I sometimes wonder what the angels think of all the things people find to do with that free will we have. I understand Te... White and Grey's outlook, I really do. But from all the years doing this, people _aren't_ always at their best."

"And by people, that also includes robot extremists, zombies and insect cyborgs?" I asked.

She laughed. "Yeah, them too," she replied. "But you see what I mean, right? The Rangers will always have to exist, for better or for worse. It's not a bad thing. Part of the reason I love doing this is so I don't have to sit back and be helpless. I can actually stand up and do something. Or, at the very least, _hit_ something. And if some days that's all you can do? At least it's something."

I didn't reply, and we walked on in silence. The compound of buildings grew larger and larger, and finally, we reached the remains of what had once been a tall fence that ringed the complex. Stepping over a smooth surface the Yellow Ranger explained was probably a landing pad, we soon approached the front of the main building. Keeping me outside while they checked the building was abandoned, the Rangers confirmed what we expected, that the base hadn't seen life for decades.

I was glad when they finally let me get out of the sun and step into the shadowy interior. Everything was covered in dust and sand, the evidence of violent sandstorms over the last century. Making our way through the base, we stepped into the centre of the building. It was wide and airy under a high ceiling, with broken windows all around. Nothing had power. Beside us, angled control panels stood damaged and idle. But as I picked my way through the rubble, I looked up to see a giant transparent sphere in the centre of the room. It was covered in red sand but it seemed solid.

As we hung back, the two Blue Rangers inspected the device.

"Do you think this is it?" asked the younger Blue Ranger quietly.

His senior counterpart nodded. "I'm sure of it," he said. "This is where the Skethani virus was made."

"So the next question," the Red Ranger began. "Can you unmake it?"

Gazing around the room with a newfound appreciation for where we were, the elder Blue Ranger shook his head. "I'm not sure. But we should be able to contain it," and he gestured back to the sphere. "It still seems structurally sound."

"That thing must be like a hundred years old," said the Aqua Ranger.

"It was originally designed to contain a sentient biomechanical apocalyptic plague," the Blue Ranger replied, and I could hear the smile under his helmet. "It was built to be durable. With the lack of humidity inherent in the desert, it may even still be functional. I'll need power to get it working, but there are batteries onboard the Phoenix."

The Yellow Ranger stepped forward. "At the very least, we can rig something up," she said.

"I'll need possibly an hour to connect all the equipment," the elder Blue Ranger said.

"Whoa, hang on a minute," called the girl White Ranger. We all turned to see her wiping the dust off a crate she'd found under one of the benches. "I found a toolbox under this console. This looks like a hammer, at least, I think it's a hammer. I guess this could be a screwdriver."

The elder Blue Ranger turned back to us. "Make that half an hour," he said confidently.

Despite the situation, I laughed.

"But still," the male White Ranger began, "the odds of this working must be close to impossible."

The Purple Ranger glanced from her team-mates to me and then back again. "Guys, Tim has less than a few hours," she said. "Damn the odds. _Make it work._ "

The Red Ranger nodded. "Blue, Blue and Yellow, get this going," he said. "Pink and White, I need you two to help ferry any equipment we need out of the Phoenix. Everyone else, I want you outside on guard duty." He lowered his voice. "They all know how much time we have, and they're not gonna fall for the same trick twice. They'll be here soon, and we need to be ready."

* * *

The clang of her metal boot steps followed Automica as she made her way through the flagship of General Skull's fleet. The interior of the ship was constructed of mismatched metal pieces, all covered by something that didn't seem either dead or alive. It was hard to tell the difference, and Automica felt unsettled either way. All around her, Skull's crew shuffled around mindlessly, going about their work in total silence. Unsurprisingly, the entire ship was as quiet as a crypt.

Reaching the end of a shadowy corridor, Automica climbed a flight of steps and found herself on the ship's bridge. Glancing around to establish the meeting wasn't an ambush, she soon saw that General Skull and the Insectoid were standing by a circular console in the centre of the room.

"Thank you for keeping us waiting," General Skull said acidly as Automica approached. "Welcome to my ship, priestess."

The priestess gazed disdainfully at Skull's bony visage. "Twice you are an affront to the Perfect System, Skull," she said. "Once before you were dead, and now in your steadfast refusal to remain that way. What was the reason for this summons? This ceasefire, however temporary, tries my patience."

"Careful priesteszzz," buzzed the Insectoid. "That emotion in your voice soundszzz oddly human."

Automica spun to face him. "Blasphemy! I will end you for that!"

"The hive welcomes you to try."

Skull slammed his fists into the console. "Would you both just shut up?" he growled, the flames in his eye sockets burning with annoyance. "We were played, all three of us! The Rangers were counting on our different agendas to help them escape with the virus, and that's exactly what happened!"

"A regrettable turn of events," Automica said. "So what do you propose? Obviously our goals remain mutually exclusive."

"But they don't have to be," Skull replied. "Why don't we learn a lesson from those fools and work together, keeping our truce in place temporarily until the Rangers have been dealt with? We won't be able to go around them. We may as well go through them."

"With an emphasiszzz on temporary," the Insectoid said archly.

"Of course," Skull replied. "Just until the Rangers are defeated and no longer protecting the virus. Once they are out of our way, it's every man for himself!"

"I find your terminology offensive," Automica said.

"Aszzz do I," the Insectoid added. "But your plan is szzzound. The hive believeszzz it is our best option for succeszzz."

"I agree," Automica said. "So what is our next move? The Rangers have fled far from Dhalia by now."

"We have already tracked them," Skull said. "Our long-range scanners had no trouble following the host of the virus. His current whereabouts place him on..."

"Nerimoszzz," buzzed the Insectoid. "Our scanners have tracked him there aszzz well."

"So it's settled then?" Skull asked, glancing to his co-conspirators as they nodded in agreement. "We set a course immediately for Nerimos," and the black fire in his eyes burned triumphantly. "Let us bring death _right to them_."

* * *

With the rest of the Rangers keeping guard in a circle around the base, and the Pink and White Rangers carrying supplies back and forth, I watched as the Yellow and two Blue Rangers explored and tested various pieces of equipment around the ruined lab. It was interesting to see how these three took the lead while the other Rangers stepped back and ceded control. It made for an effortless shift of power amongst a team of people who clearly trusted each other instinctively, and it gave me more hope the longer I watched them.

Glancing around the lab as the Rangers worked separately, I looked over to the younger Blue Ranger. He was lying on the ground nearby and trying to make sense of the underside of a console. Wondering if he was making any progress, I made my way across the lab towards him.

"Can I help or something?" I asked.

He crawled out from under the console and looked up to me. "I don't think so, but thanks for asking," he said.

"I'm sorry to be a nuisance, I just feel useless sitting here," I said. "You guys all seem to know what you're doing."

The younger Blue Ranger giggled beneath his helmet and stood up. "Can I tell you something that might really shock you?" he asked.

I let his words sink in for a few seconds and then cracked up laughing, falling back against the wall until I regained control of my breathing. Across the lab, the elder Blue and Yellow Rangers stopped to look at me.

"What?" asked the younger Blue Ranger. "What's so funny?"

I grinned. "I am standing in an abandoned scientific lab on an alien world," I began, "built a century ago by people from a clockwork city on a _different_ alien world, where the Power Rangers are trying to yank a virus that's a tiny bit alive out of me before it goes nuclear in two hours and kills everyone in the galaxy." I shook my head. "I just thought, we are so far beyond the point of me being surprised, right now."

The younger Blue Ranger laughed. "That's fair," he said. "No, I just wanted to be honest with you, since you're trusting us with your life and all. We might look like we know what we're doing, but truthfully?" He gestured around the lab. "So much of this is totally over our heads. Every time we have to morph, we have no idea how we're going to end up saving the day. But I'll tell you a big secret."

"Yeah?"

"We are brilliant at making it up as we go," he said. "I got a puzzle one year for Christmas when I was a kid. I must've worked on that thing for days. I didn't care about any of my other presents. All I wanted to do was solve that damn puzzle. Thing is? I did, eventually. And I think a lot of this is the same thing. Every riddle has a solution. Every mystery can be solved. Even if there are a million things that don't work, there _has_ to be one that does. It's just a matter of finding it."

"And you really think you can pull this thing out of me?" I asked.

"Absolutely," he said. "Do you?"

"I'm starting to."

"Good," he said. "Don't lose faith. It's important. Everyone in the Universe gets scared every now and then. Even us."

"Even world-ending nanotech plagues?" I joked. Then I froze, realising what I'd said.

Of course.

 _Of course!_

The answer was so simple!

"That's it!" I shouted.

The younger Blue Ranger turned to me. "What?" he asked. "What's the matter?"

I tried to find the words, but couldn't do anything except jump up and down on the spot. Looking across the lab, I pointed to the senior Blue and Yellow Rangers. "Blue! Yellow!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. "I've got it! I've figured it out! It's so easy!"

The two Rangers ran over to where the younger Blue Ranger and I were standing.

"What's wrong?" asked the Yellow Ranger.

The elder Blue Ranger tapped the side of his helmet. "I recognise a eureka-moment when I see one," he said.

"I figured it out," I said. I had to remind myself to talk slowly or else I'd run out of oxygen. "Everyone has spent the last few days telling me that the Skethani virus is a little bit alive, right? You can't pull it out of me and you can't kill me or else it'll burst free anyway. But," and I took a breath before continuing, "what if you made it _want_ to leave, all by itself?"

"That could work," the Yellow Ranger began. "But how would we do that?"

I glanced to the younger Blue Ranger. "By scaring it," I said. "By scaring it to death. It was created here in the lab, right? All I have to do is take off Hephaestus's bracelet, and then you bluff the virus into thinking you've beaten it. With luck..."

"It'll break free by itself, and we can point it into the containment sphere," the younger Blue Ranger finished. "A familiar place it's been before. Tim, that's..."

"Brilliant," said the elder Blue Ranger.

"So this'll work?" I asked. Now that I was no longer a lost cause, I felt my spirits rising. "This could actually work?"

"I wish with all my heart we could tell you yes," the younger Blue Ranger replied, regaining control of himself.

"This is still going to be a huge risk," the Yellow Ranger said. "We can't guarantee it."

"But this thing in me?" I asked. "I just realised that I'm not infected by it. I'm _containing_ it. When this blasts out of me, it's gonna kill a lot of people, right?"

"Quite probably," replied the elder Blue Ranger.

I gestured to the desert outside. "This planet," I began, "I know you said it was mostly deserted, but there are people here, right?"

The elder Blue Ranger nodded. "Affirmative," he said. "There is a large settlement about thirty kilometres to the south, relative to our current position."

"Well isn't the point of this, the point of _all_ this, to turn every Heaven on every world upside down just for the sake of one boy?" I asked. The Rangers nodded, and I continued. "Then for the sake of all those boys and all those girls, we need to do this. We've got to at least try."

"Okay," the younger Blue Ranger said. "What have we got to lose?"

"It's just," I began. "I don't want to do this alone."

The Yellow Ranger laughed, and with the same gloved fists I'd watched shatter stone, she gently took my hand. "Haven't you figured it out yet?" she asked. "You're never alone. Not with us you're not."

"Then let's do this," I said.

 _To be continued._

* * *

 _Author's notes - coming next chapter? **WAR**. Until then..._


	13. Chapter 13

_Author's notes - Hey everybody! Hold your breath, we've come to the big climactic battle scene. When I started writing this story, I knew it would be one of my longest PR stories (although I didn't realise just_ how _long), but I knew it was building to an ALMIGHTY battle scene, and I wanted to reward readers with something_ spectacular _. With all the stories I've written, I've never written an action scene like this one before, and I think it'll be a long time before I write one like it again :). This is the Rangers fighting armies. This is_ war _. Staying true to the theme of the story (characters caught in impossible situations), I wanted to test the Rangers. What happens when the odds aren't just bad, but utterly impossible? How do the heroes respond when they're pushed into a corner with no options left? I hope you enjoy it._

 _Given that he morphs with the Stegosaurus Power Coin, Peter the Orange Ranger has (unsurprisingly) a Stegosaurus zord. But waaaaaay back when Jason got his Red Dragon, Zordon and Alpha also upgraded the Stegozord to give it a warrior mode, so Pete could fight side-by-side with Jason. I put my Megazords at a conservative 15 storeys, which puts the Red Dragon and Stegozord at about 12 storeys. I love the Stegozord warrior mode, and this is actually the first story I've written where it makes an appearance (I wrote this series of point-of-view stories to focus on the characters other than Pete, although he keeps popping up, bless him)._

 _Finally, remember how Tim began this story, right back in chapter one, by mentioning the two words that "she" said to him while "the sky was falling"? Here you find out what those two words were, and who it was who said them._

 _With all that out of the way ... enjoy chapter 13._

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen**

The elder Blue Ranger rested a hand on my shoulder. "You'll have to wait outside," he said. "The only way this will succeed is if our bluff is completely authentic. We need your fear and surprise to be as real as possible. When we call for you, take off the bracelet and run inside. Hopefully we'll have something waiting for you."

I nodded. "I can do that," I said.

The Pink Ranger stepped into the lab. "Guys, you better come outside!" she said. "We're out of time!" The Rangers and I followed her down the corridor and out onto the desert plain, where the rest of the Rangers were waiting for us in front of the abandoned complex. The sky was dark, and my first thought was that the sun must set really quickly on this planet. But with mounting horror, I remembered Automica's attack at the museum, and I realised that, like then, something was blocking out the sun.

Not really wanting to, I shielded my eyes and looked at the sky alongside the Rangers.

Almost immediately, all thirteen of us wished that we hadn't.

The sky was black with a massive fleet of spaceships of all sizes. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands, all descending towards the abandoned lab. I could see hundreds of skullships, with their macabre faces grinning triumphantly, alongside swarms of house-sized wasps and other cybernetic insects we hadn't even seen back on Dhalia. Mixed amongst the skullships and insects were round silver ships with the high priestess's insignia all over them. Every single spaceship falling towards us was bristling with weaponry.

I stepped back in shock. I didn't realise for a few seconds, but after a while, I felt the ground shaking beneath my feet. Gazing around, I could see ground troops as well, a thousand soldiers closing in on the lab in a wide circle. There were dozens of enormous praying mantises, and they were joined by cybernetic spiders the size of houses, crawling towards us and leaving clouds of dust in their wake. All around them were smaller insects the size of cars, with glowing green bodies that skittered along on silver legs. Even as we watched, flashes of light heralded soldiers teleporting down from the ships above. In one flash, I saw Automica and her ten bishops arrive with countless hundreds of robots behind her. Seconds later, the ground broke apart as nameless things that had died on far away worlds clawed out of their graves to join General Skull's ranks. As far away as we were, I could see that while most of them were human, some were definitely not.

The lab was surrounded. There was no escape, no path left through the armies. Even the sky meant death, as the hundreds of ships fell closer towards us. In all my life, I'd never felt as tiny as I did, right that second, like a speck of sand on the bottom of my shoes.

The twelve Rangers and I were hopelessly, utterly trapped.

"Wow," murmured the younger Blue Ranger, his voice sounding small. "There's a lot of them."

"I guess they stopped fighting each other," said the Orange Ranger.

"We've handled this many before though, right?" asked the female White Ranger.

The Black Ranger turned to her. " _When_?"

"Yeah, piece of cake," said the Aqua Ranger, with no humour left in his voice. "You guys take the twenty thousand on the left. I'll take the twenty thousand on the right."

"I can't believe there's so many," said the Grey Ranger. "Why haven't they just blasted us from orbit?"

"They need the virus to finish charging," replied the Yellow Ranger. "Tim's the only reason we're still alive."

"It looks like the priestess brought the entire divine order with her," the Pink Ranger added.

A loud voice boomed out of the largest skullship. It was a voice with authority, but it was as hollow of emotion as an empty tomb. I recognised it instantly as General Skull.

"Rangers!" the zombie soldier called. "Finally, there is no escaping me! Here you will die, overwhelmed on this barren rock, alone and far from home. And then your broken corpses will join me and we will ravage whatever is left of the Universe."

"Just try it buddy," murmured the Black Ranger.

But Skull didn't hear him. "High priestess Automica, the Insectoid and I would like to ask that you surrender immediately and hand over the boy who carries the virus," he continued, "but we know that would be a waste of time. Honestly? We'd rather you put up a fight. But make no mistake Rangers. This time, _this time_ , there is no escape."

"He's right," said the male White Ranger, glancing around to his team-mates. "There's nowhere left to run."

The Red Ranger nodded. "We're out of time and options," he said. "We make our final stand here. Defend Tim at all costs. If they trigger the Skethani virus, then it's over for this and every other world. Blue, tell me you've got a plan?"

"Affirmative," the elder Blue Ranger replied. He then added quietly, "if fortune favours us, it may even succeed."

"That's good enough for me," the Red Ranger said. "What do you need?"

"Time," the younger Blue Ranger said. "Ten minutes at most."

"Then that's what we'll give you," and the Red Ranger turned to his team-mates. "Orange, Purple and Pink?" he began. "Take to the skies with me. We need to bring those ships down. Grey and White, summon the Iguanodon and Tigerzord. Take out the bugs. Blue and Blue, you're in the lab. Whatever you're gonna do, do it fast. Yellow, Black, White and Aqua? The ground troops are all yours. Don't let 'em near the lab. We need to buy our Blue Rangers every second we can."

"Right!" everybody replied.

I watched in disbelief as the two Blue Rangers sprinted back to the lab. The Red Ranger had spoken as if he was making a shopping list. But there were ten people facing down an army, a force that could conquer a planet or topple an empire, all coming with a single, unstoppable objective.

To kill _me_.

The line of Rangers shared one final look of acknowledgement before they started forward, walking slowly at first but increasing their speed with every step.

I shook my head. "No," I said. "How can you beat this?"

"Have some faith," said the Purple Ranger.

"But no!" I shouted. "Get out of here! There's no stopping this." I stopped to catch my breath. "After everything that's happened, this is impossible. You can't beat them! There's too many!"

As her team-mates charged forward to greet their enemies, the Purple Ranger looked back over her shoulder and said two words, even as the sky was falling.

" _Watch us_ ," she said.

Leading the charge, the Orange, Purple and Grey Rangers raised their arms to the sky. "We need dinozord power, now!"

Beside them, the Red Ranger soon followed. "Red Dragon thunder zord power!"

He was joined a second later by the White Ranger. "White Tigerzord, power up!"

Across the infinite gulf of space, the faithful metal beasts heard the calls of their masters. The sky shook. Lightning exploded around the battlefield. With a mighty roar, the zords arrived, leaping over our heads and onto the desert plain. Out in front was the orange Stegozord, with the Red Dragon flying close above. Seeing the fleet of zords appear, the ships facing us turned to fire, launching a broadside of laser fire and missiles straight for them. The entire plain erupted in sparks and smoke, but in a flash of light, the Red Dragon and Stegozord transformed into their warrior modes and lifted into the sky. The Red and Orange Rangers reached for their wrists and shot up towards their zords, spiralling around the beasts and materialising in their cockpits a second later.

With that, the two zords roared into the sky towards the armada of hovering skullships and insects. The Stegozord held its fists out in front and smashed straight through a ship as it rose, flying through a second and then a third, leaving them as fiery ruin that crashed back to the ground. As the zord reached the upper atmosphere, a gigantic skullship unleashed a massive barrage towards it, but the Stegozord flew straight towards the ship, aiming a powerful punch for the skull adorning the vessel's front and instantly shattering it. A fleet of Automica's ships closed in, but in a flash, the Stegozord was holding its tail-mace weapon, and it destroyed the silver ships with a single wide swing. But more and more ships were converging on the zord, and the Stegozord spun around with the eyes of the Stegosaurus on its chestplate glowing yellow. The zord held its arms wide and a volley of fireballs exploded from the dinosaur's mouth, scorching through the air and wiping out a dozen enemy ships.

Hundreds of feet below, the Red Dragon came under heavy fire from a swarm of hovering insects. Holding its staff out, it spun the weapon around in its hand, catching and blocking the incoming barrage. Protected from harm, the Red Dragon flew straight towards the giant insects and tore through them with its staff, smashing them out of the air one-by-one before shooting straight up to take out a dozen more. Without slowing down, the zord spun around with a kick that shattered one of Automica's ships, before slicing the staff towards a fleet of skullships nearby. An arc of red energy exploded from the weapon, slamming into the ships and shattering them in midair. Even as the fiery wreckage fell out of the sky, the Red Dragon shot up again, smashing through ship after ship without slowing down.

Back on the ground, the Pink Ranger raced towards the Phoenix, and the Pink Ranger's thunder zord lifted into the air to join the Purple Ranger in her Rhamphorynchus as they shot up to join the orange Stegozord and Red Dragon. A legion of skullships opened fire on the Rhamphorynchus, but the zord was too fast, outrunning the barrage and then doubling back to unleash a broadside of rockets, shredding the attacking ships in midair. Swinging back around, the Purple Ranger dipped the zord low under enemy fire then banked sharply, catching a fleet of Automica's ships by surprise and using those precious few seconds to blow them out of the sky. Banking left to avoid a shower of falling wreckage, the Purple Ranger caught sight of a squadron of skullships sweeping around towards her. Dodging incoming fire, the Rhamphorynchus shot towards the ships, unleashing every weapon in its arsenal and tearing the skullships apart.

Closer to the ground, more and more cybernetic insects were falling away from the dogfight to focus on the Rangers still on the ground. A dozen glimmering metal wasps lined up their weaponry for the lab when the Phoenix zord roared overhead, igniting the air with a wave of fire and reducing the wasps to charred wreckage. Banking right, the Phoenix destroyed a low-flying skullship then dived low under an oncoming barrage that wiped out the cybernetic insects in pursuit. Levelling out, the Pink Ranger found her zord facing a line of skullships, but instead of changing course, she pushed the Phoenix towards them. As the zord closed in, orange and red flames enveloped the beast, and it exploded through the wall of enemy ships to leave them as burning ruin before curving back around to continue the fight.

On the ground, the desert plain had erupted with the sounds of war. Explosions and the impacts from crashing spaceships shook the battlefield, and the smoke from all the wreckage blotted out the sky. As I watched, three giant silver robots rose above the plain. Each one was fifteen storeys tall with glowing red eyes, a menacing metal scowl and Automica's symbol on their chests. The ground shook as they thundered towards the lab. I stepped back in terror when a giant shadow fell over me, and the gleaming silver Iguanodon leaped over the complex and charged towards the robots. The Grey Ranger inside the zord spun the beast around and slammed its tail into one of the robots, taking it to the ground before a high kick flattened the second. As its comrades crashed back and were lost in the rain of destroyed spaceships, the third robot powered towards the zord. The Grey Ranger pushed the Iguanodon forward, blocking a wide swing, striking the robot's arm away and slamming the robot off its feet with a powerful blow to the head. With a triumphant roar, the Iguanodon charged after its adversaries.

As the Iguanodon continued trading blows with its three gigantic opponents, the army of mantises and spiders converged on the lab, when the White Tigerzord charged through the crowd, scattering the smaller robots like toys and crushing them underfoot with every titanic step. A dozen spiders swarmed towards the zord, but the Tigerzord sliced its golden blade straight for them, carving through the insects and instantly destroying them. Hanging back, another crowd of spiders aimed low to bring the zord down. Steering the zord to safety, the White Ranger switched to firebolts and returned fire, forcing the spiders to retreat. A mantis and a spider approached from either side, and the Tigerzord aimed low, shattering the spider with a punch before kicking the mantis away. Now wary of their opponent, the remaining insects kept their distance and fired a barrage of missiles. The front of the Tigerzord went up in sparks and smoke, but the White Ranger pushed the zord through the onslaught, blasting fireballs from the zord's chest and tearing the insects apart.

I was frozen to the spot as war erupted around me. I was terrified. I couldn't hear myself think over the noise of the battle, but I couldn't move. Watching the Rangers work was mesmerising, and I couldn't leave if I wanted to.

Nearby, a figure emerged from the burning wreckage of one of Automica's crashed ships, light from the debris glinting off the robot's metal body. As the robot approached, I gasped, when the Yellow Ranger leaped past me, slamming her boots into the robot's chest and sending it flying. She dropped to the ground and quickly found her footing as more adversaries closed in. She jumped high, launching another robot back with a kick, before blocking an attack from the right and slamming the robot off its feet with a palm strike. Spinning to the side, she blocked a punch from a zombie on her left then struck the creature back with a blow to the shoulder. Another zombie lurched towards her, but without slowing down, she dropped low to catch a kick and then spun the creature off its feet. Three more undead soldiers closed in, but with her hands and feet like lightning given solid form, she struck one away with a right jab, slammed the second off its feet with a blow to the head and launched the third away with a low kick. But before she had time to recover, a dozen more zombies had already surrounded her.

A few metres away, the Black Ranger held his ground as a swarm of the Insectoid's drones approached, their cybernetic parts glowing under their bulbous eyes. Hesitating a second longer, as one, the drones attacked. With his arms and legs a blur of motion, the Black Ranger caught a punch and spun the attacker off his feet, throwing the insect at another and sending them both to the ground. Spinning around, he blocked a high swing and launched his adversary back with a right hook, sending another crashing with a low kick. Finding his footing, he dropped low to avoid an attack then kicked high, slamming his boot into the drone's head. He dropped to the ground as another swarm of insects closed in. He blocked a slice for his head and batted the drone away, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid a second drone who raked its talons across his chest. The Black Ranger was thrown backwards in a blaze of fire and sparks, but he recovered just as the drone attacked again. Catching the creature's arm, he launched the drone into the air with a powerful uppercut, before flattening another with a blow to the head.

"Man," the Black Ranger groaned. " _Bugs_."

Back towards the lab, a horde of zombies surrounded the Aqua Ranger. With enemies on all sides, he didn't waste energy on jokes, launching one opponent back with a spinning kick before dropping low, sweeping a zombie's legs out from under him and catching a third on the upswing. An undead beast with more mouths than it should've had bellowed and charged towards him, but he reached for his blade-blaster and fired, slamming the monster back in an explosion of sparks. Three of the smaller cybernetic insects skittered out of the dust cloud towards him, and he shifted his sidearm to blade-mode as they attacked. He carved the blade through the first insect's head before launching the weapon straight for the second, the creature's head disappearing in a cloud of smoke. The third creature roared towards him, but the Aqua Ranger swung a powerful punch for the creature's jaw, shattering its head. With a flash, he summoned the blade-blaster back to his grip, and he held his ground as more of the insects appeared around him.

Behind me, I turned to see the girl White Ranger fighting her way through a crowd of opponents and leaving a trail of broken zombies and shattered robots in her wake. Striking away a robotic adversary, she leaped over a wide swing from a sword-wielding zombie. Before the zombie could swing again, she grabbed the blade, wrenched it out of his hand and sliced him in half with it. A legion of robots nearby lined up and fired, and she took to the air, dodging their blasts and throwing the sword. The weapon carved through one of the robots and forced the others to take cover. But before they could retaliate, she'd already closed the distance between them, disabling them with a rapid flurry of sharp blows before grabbing their guns and firing at a wall of zombies a few metres away. Even as the zombies fell, a swarm of drones took their place. The White Ranger leaped towards them, taking down several with a spinning jump kick. As she dropped to the ground, she blocked a vertical slash from one of the drones, striking it away with a blow to the chest before grabbing the outstretched arm of another and throwing the creature into a third, downing them both in a tangle of limbs.

"Are we winning?" shouted the Black Ranger.

"I don't know!" replied the Aqua Ranger, trading blows with either a zombie or a mutant insect. It would've been hard to tell under normal circumstances. "Just keep punching things!"

"Look!" called the girl White Ranger, and pointed to the sky.

Everyone looked up and gasped. The sky was empty apart from a handful of ships being pursued by the Phoenix and Rhamphorynchus, and the fiery remains of the destroyed armada that was still falling out of the sky. The Rangers before me regrouped in front of the lab, and I watched as the Red Dragon thunder zord and orange Stegozord flew back towards the ground. In a flash of red and orange, their respective Rangers teleported down to join their friends, hitting the ground running. Side-by-side, they held out their arms and summoned their Power Swords with a thought. Charging into the crowd, the Orange Ranger slashed his sword through one of the zombies before spinning around and destroying a pair of robots. Immediately behind him, the Red Ranger sliced his blade through a horde of zombies, defeating enemies with every step. Blocking an attack, he slammed his fist into his opponent's face, shattering the zombie's head. As more adversaries closed in around them, the Red and Orange Rangers fell back-to-back.

"Hold the line!" the Red Ranger shouted. "Nothing gets past us!"

"Right!" everyone replied.

Just then I heard a voice over the war. "Tim!"

I turned to see the younger Blue Ranger standing by the entrance to the lab.

"Now?" I asked.

"It's now or never!" he shouted back.

I waited for a path to clear between the combatants on all sides before forcing my legs to run.

But as I made a frantic dash towards the lab, a shadow fell over the battlefield. I looked up to see a smoking skullship crashing down towards us. I looked around for somewhere to run but it was too late, and the ship smashed into the ground, ripping itself apart. The force of the impact threw everybody to the dirt and sent a huge dust cloud billowing out. I crashed to the ground coughing, and raised my hand to protect my face as debris rained down around me. Regaining my senses, I looked around to find nothing but smoke and dust. There were no recognisable landmarks, no Rangers, and no lab. The frenzied sounds of battle still echoed out of the smoke cloud. I glanced around frantically, but I had no idea where I was, or where anything else was either. The cloud was clearing around me, but by the time I figured out where I was, it'd be too late.

A voice echoed out of the cloud.

"Tim! Where are you?"

It was one of the Rangers, and it wasn't far away. I turned in the direction of the sound to see a shadowy figure emerging from the cloud. I took a hopeful step towards them, but then froze in shock.

Whatever the creature emerging from the cloud had once been, it certainly wasn't human. The zombie before me was seven feet tall and wearing a black jacket with General Skull's insignia. The creature was more bone than flesh, with sickly-green eyes over a grinning mouth. Dragging behind him was an enormous cannon like I'd never seen before, easily twice as large as me. Gazing down over me, the zombie chuckled to himself.

"The carrier," the monster bellowed. "All this for you? Hardly seems worth it. But Skull will reward me greatly if I bring you to him."

" _Get away from him!_ " came a voice, and the Orange Ranger leaped down between us. With surprising speed, the zombie raised his cannon and fired. The Orange Ranger threw me away as the full force of the blast smashed into him. There was an explosion of orange light as the Orange Ranger was lifted off his feet and slammed into the ground thirty feet away. Climbing to my feet, I looked around, expecting to see him charging to the rescue. But then I caught sight of his body, half-hidden by a newly-formed crater. And all I could see...

... were legs.

 _Oh no._

The force of the blast had demorphed him.

Facing me across the clearing, the zombie soldier rested his weapon against his shoulder. "Well," he remarked casually. "Works on starships. Never thought it'd work on a Ranger." Ignoring me, he advanced on his fallen opponent.

I glanced from the Ranger to the zombie and back again. And before I realised what I was doing, I raced over towards the fallen hero.

Sometimes the best part of you wakes up, like that, and you didn't even know it was there.

I reached his side and grabbed his shoulders, hoping for the best but expecting the worst. "C'mon dude, wake up!" I shouted. But seeing him up close, I froze.

He was a kid. He was just a kid. He was maybe sixteen, the same age as me. He had a head of tangled dark hair. His clothes were torn, his face and arms streaked with dirt and blood. And he was skinny, way too skinny to be a superhero. But he was just a kid, which meant they all were.

He coughed as I shook him but he didn't open his eyes. "Wake up! C'mon!" I said again. But he didn't stir. Darkness fell, and I looked up to see the zombie standing over us. Shaking with an uncertain mix of rage and terror, I stepped between the Orange Ranger's body and the towering monster.

"Don't touch him!" I shouted. "Don't you dare!"

"Get out of my way," the zombie sneered. "I'm not asking."

"Why? What do you want from him? I'm the one with the virus!"

"I know," the zombie replied, fixing his gaze on me. I shrank back. "I can smell it on you. You reek of it! You have minutes, and then the virus will finally consume you. There's nothing I can do to accelerate that. On the other hand," and he looked down over his fallen prey, "if I mounted the head of a Ranger from Earth on my ship, I'd be the most feared warrior in the galaxy. Even Skull would bow before me."

I shook my head. "You'll have to get past me!"

The zombie laughed. "Please child," he said, and struck me aside with the barrel of his gun. I crashed to the ground and rolled to a stop. "I'll deal with you later."

Without warning, there was a wild shout and a flash of orange so bright it hurt my eyes.

" _Stegosaurus!_ "

I looked up to see the Orange Ranger falling towards the zombie with his arm outstretched. His Power Sword appeared in his hand, and he slashed it through the giant cannon, instantly destroying the weapon. The zombie staggered back, and the Ranger ran his hand over the length of the blade, charging the sword with power.

"Deal with _this_ ," the Orange Ranger said, and he slashed his sword straight for the zombie. Power exploded from the blade's arc, scorching across the clearing and slamming into the monster, tearing the creature apart. With the beast destroyed, the Orange Ranger offered me his hand and helped me to my feet.

"You okay?" he asked.

It took me a few seconds to find my voice. "Are you?"

"I've had better days," he admitted, then caught himself. "Lab's over there," and he pointed through the dissipating smoke cloud. I could just make out the outline of the building. "I think they want you. How much time will you need?"

"Not much."

"Then we'll keep them off you as long as we can," he replied, and nodded to the lab. "Go!"

"Okay," I replied, and I sprinted away from him. "Oh, but thanks!" I stopped and turned back, but he'd already disappeared into the battle.

 _To be continued._

* * *

 _Author's notes - next time, while a violent war rages all around, the Skethani virus finally wakes up, ready to ravage the galaxy. Tim puts his plan into motion, but things never go to plan ... and just when the stakes couldn't get any higher, everything gets worse. See you then!_


	14. Chapter 14

_Author's notes - Thanks for all the positive feedback everybody. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. There's even more fighting to get through here, but it'll be worth it :).  
_

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen**

Reaching the front of the building, I came to a stop to catch my breath, and glanced down to the bracelet Hephaestus had given me back on Olympus. What we were about to do was impossible. Everyone had spent the last three days telling me that. I had no idea whether this was going to work, and there was every chance it wouldn't. But the Power Rangers said that it _might_ , and that was enough for me. Hesitating a second longer, I unclasped the bracelet, threw it to the ground and made my way inside.

As I stepped into the building, a wave of nausea swept over me. For a second, I was so dizzy I could barely stand, and I hung onto the wall until it passed. Then I started to hear it, a voice in the back of my head whispering horrible things but growing louder.

This was it. There was no turning back.

The Skethani virus was waking up.

Stumbling into the lab, I scanned the room. Both Blue Rangers were standing beside the open containment unit. Next to them was a console of blinking lights they must've rewired and switched on, while a few metres in front of the giant sphere, an odd-looking silver disc about the size of a manhole cover lay on the floor. Seeing me, the two Rangers glanced to each other wordlessly, and then the younger Blue Ranger marched towards me.

"So guys," I began hopefully. "What's the plan?"

The younger Blue Ranger ignored me, grabbing my arm and dragging me across the room. His grip was soft at first but quickly grew painfully tight. I winced but he only increased the pressure, until it felt like my bone was about to shatter.

"Um," I said hesitantly, trying to break free. "That's, um, that's really hurting. Like, a _lot_."

He still didn't reply. By now, we'd reached the metal disc on the ground, and he forced me onto it. "If you move, I'll break your legs," he said coldly, then finally released my arm and stepped back.

I glanced between them, confused. It didn't feel like they were bluffing anymore. "So what's this thing?" I asked, and kicked at the disc.

"Don't do that," snapped the younger Blue Ranger.

Across the lab, the elder of the two Rangers spoke up. "It's a teleport pad," he replied. "There's three more of them throughout the building. We're sorry Timothy. We're really sorry, but we've run the calculations a dozen times. There is no way possible to remove the Skethani virus from you without triggering it. And if we do that, it'll kill billions. We can't take the chance. There's too much at stake."

I felt a surge of white-hot anger roar through my veins. I'm certain it wasn't mine.

Most of it, at least.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"We cannot save you," the elder Blue Ranger continued, and I heard his voice breaking under his helmet. "But we _can_ stop you. Like I said, you're standing on a teleporter. Once we activate it, you'll be trapped in an endless teleport loop between the four terminals. Your molecules will be in a permanent state of flux, so the virus will never be able to finish charging." The Blue Ranger broke off, looking away. "And once we have your molecules contained, we can disassemble them, one-by-one, and scatter them across the galaxy. The Skethani virus is too great a threat. We don't have a choice."

The voice in my head was screaming. It was angry, and so was I.

But I was really scared.

"So what you said before was...?" I began, and stepped off the disc. But the younger Blue Ranger shoved me back.

"We are sorry Timothy," the elder Blue Ranger repeated. "But we're out of options. You won't survive the process, no. But if it's any consolation, we're fairly certain the procedure will be painless."

I saw red, literally, as my vision turned blood-red. My heart was pounding in my chest. With every beat, it felt like it was gonna burst free of my ribs. "No, guys, you can't!" I shouted. "You said you could save me!"

"Stand back," called the elder Blue Ranger to his team-mate. "I'm activating the teleporter."

"No!" I screamed, when my voice took on an unearthly howl, a screech of twisting metal. My head began throbbing with the worst migraine in the galaxy and my heartbeat drowned out the noise of the war outside. Suddenly I was a passenger in my own body as I threw my arms wide and a swarm of angry nanotech particles exploded from my mouth, swarming across the lab as fingers of lightning crackled around us.

"It's working!" the younger Blue Ranger shouted. "It's working!"

The last pieces of the sentient swarm shot out of me, and the younger Blue Ranger wrapped his arms around me and threw me to the ground as the lightning storm intensified. Above us, the angry cloud of particles swarmed around the lab in confusion. Seeing the containment sphere, the cloud shot down through the door. Once the last of it was inside the orb, the elder Blue Ranger slammed his fist against the console. With a puff of smoke, the door swung shut, trapping the virus inside. The lightning storm ended, and the lab fell silent.

The younger Blue Ranger helped me to my feet and glanced to his senior counterpart. "You got it all?" he asked. "Scan him, quick!"

The elder Blue Ranger held up a small device and aimed it at me. For a few seconds, nobody moved. Then he lowered the device. "Not one single atom of the Skethani virus is left inside him," the elder Blue Ranger said, and I could hear the smile of relief under his helmet. "There's no energy signal whatsoever. Were it not for his elevated heartbeat, I don't think the scanner would detect him at all."

"You mean it's out of me?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

"You're all clear," the elder Blue Ranger said. "The plan worked."

"So that was all just part of the bluff?" I asked.

The younger Blue Ranger nodded. "A little bit, yeah," he said. "I didn't hurt your arm, did I?"

"A little bit," I said with a smile.

"I'm sorry," he replied. "I wanted to make it as genuine as possible."

"It's okay," I said. "I'm pretty sure you just saved my life, so I forgive you. For the record? You guys are a damn side better at bluffing than I am."

Predatory growls filled the room, and we turned to the containment sphere. Inside, the virus was testing the trap, but I could feel its eyes on us. For a brief second the swarm made a face, something horned and demonic screaming in rage. It was a face I hoped I'd never see again.

"Could you really have done all that though?" I asked. "The virus that even the gods were afraid of, could you actually have killed it like that?"

The elder Blue Ranger considered this for a second. "Possibly," he said.

The younger Blue Ranger picked up the disc lying on the floor. "Not with this, though," he said. "This is just a trash-can lid. We found it in the corner," and he threw it over his shoulder.

"Wait a second," I said, glancing to the entrance. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" the elder Blue Ranger asked.

"Nothing," I replied. "It's quiet."

The younger Blue Ranger nodded. "He's right. Let's go," he said, and the three of us ran outside.

The first thing I noticed apart from the quiet was the sky. It was blue. The smoke and dust thrown up by the battle was dissipating, leaving a clear sky with no skullships or cybernetic insects in sight. At ground level, on every side of us lay burning wreckage in a wide arc around the lab. Everywhere I looked, there was nothing but the tangled ruins of destroyed starships, the fiery pieces of broken robots and cybernetic insects, and the remains of General Skull's army. Even Automica's three giant robots had been ripped apart, and pieces of them were scattered across the battlefield from one side of the plain to the other.

But climbing over the wreckage and making their way towards the lab were the rest of the Rangers. None of them had made it through the battle unscathed. A few of them were nursing injuries. Their suits were damaged and torn. Their helmets were dented and cracked. The Black Ranger was holding his left arm awkwardly, while the Orange Ranger was limping badly, until the Red Ranger noticed and offered him a shoulder to lean on. But as the twelve heroes reunited around me, I realised something.

They'd survived.

The Aqua Ranger whistled. "Did we really just do all that?" he asked softly.

"I guess so," the Black Ranger laughed.

The female White Ranger turned to her brother. "How's Tim?" she asked.

The younger Blue Ranger stepped forward. "Fine," he said. "A clean bill of health."

"And the virus?" asked the Red Ranger.

"Safely contained," replied the elder Blue Ranger. "For how long, I couldn't tell you. But for the moment, we're safe."

"That's what you think!" came a voice.

We turned to see a line of figures approaching from across the wreckage-strewn battlefield. Leading them was a figure I recognised instantly from pictures the Rangers had shown me onboard the Phoenix. It was the Insectoid, ahead of Automica's army of bishops that had attacked the museum three days ago.

Three days, three planets and a lifetime ago.

"Not these clowns again," murmured the Purple Ranger. But I saw the change. Despite the injuries, bruises and all the damage they'd taken, the Rangers were instantly standing taller, forgetting their wounds and forming a line between their enemies and me.

I smiled to myself. They were still protecting me, even after everything they'd been through already.

"It's over Insectoid," said the Red Ranger. "We trashed your army and destroyed your swarms. You couldn't beat us back on Dhalia and you sure as hell won't beat us now. How do _you_ think this is going to end?"

"But you are exhausted," buzzed the cybernetic insect. His voice made my ears hurt. "Like all humankind, you are vulnerable. Each of Automica'szzz bishopszzz was calculated to be a match for you. Today, Rangerszzz, today on thiszzz empty rock, you will meet your doom!"

"You first," said the Orange Ranger.

The remaining Rangers raised their arms and summoned their Power Weapons with a thought. As one, the twelve Rangers broke into a run, charging towards their enemies.

"Rangers," shouted the Red Ranger, " _bring 'em down!_ "

"Right!"

As I watched, the ten bishops scattered, seeking out their opposing Rangers and opening fire. The desert plain once again exploded with the sounds of frenzied combat. As her opponent fired a barrage at her, the Purple Ranger charged over the sandy ground towards it, raising her Power Mace and striking away the blasts as she ran. Within seconds, she'd closed the distance between herself and her adversary. The robot aimed the cannon on its right arm but the Purple Ranger struck it away, before smashing aside its left arm and caving in the robot's chest shell with a powerful swing. The robot staggered back sparking, and the Purple Ranger chased after it, bringing it down with one blow and shattering its head to pieces with a second.

A short distance away, the Grey Ranger was racing amongst pieces of debris for cover as he and his robotic opponent traded fire. Waiting for a break, he leaped out from behind a destroyed skullship with his Power Blasters held high. The bishop returned fire but the Grey Ranger was too fast, diving to safety as the wreckage erupted behind him. Rolling to his feet as the bishop continued firing, he dodged to the left before jumping to the right, closing in with every step. Forcing the bishop to duck with a wide shot, he took to the air, somersaulting over the robot and firing twin blasts into its head, touching down a second later as the robot was blasted apart behind him.

Avoiding the incoming laser fire, the Blue Ranger raised his three-pronged Power Lance and leaped into the air, dropping down in front of his adversary. As he landed, twin electrified blades unfolded from the bishop's arms, and he raised his lance to block a lunge from the right before batting away the second blade and forcing the robot back with a wide slice. While the bishop regained its footing, the Blue Ranger analysed the robot's body. He knew these kinds of robots were often designed with biological humans in mind, with processing chips in the head and a power core in the torso. By now the bishop had recovered, but a second was all the Blue Ranger needed, sidestepping the robot's attack and carving his bladed lance across the bishop's chest, exposing the wiring and gears underneath.

"Hmm," said the Blue Ranger, "this looks important," and he reached into the robot's body, wrapped his fingers around the first wiring he could see, and ripped it out.

Behind him, the Pink Ranger aimed her Power Bow at her opposing bishop and sent a glowing arrow whistling towards it. But the bishop was lighter and faster than the rest, and it stepped around the arrow and returned fire. The Pink Ranger leaped to safety, racing along the body of a destroyed praying mantis and firing arrow after arrow at her opponent. But the robot nimbly avoided every attack. Changing tactics, the Pink Ranger took to the air and shot a barrage of arrows at a nearby piece of debris, the blast throwing the bishop away. As the smoke cloud cleared, the bishop gazed around to get its bearings when it found itself staring at the Pink Ranger, standing a metre away with a dozen glowing arrows aimed for its head.

"Dodge _this_ ," the Pink Ranger said, and fired.

Across the plain, the Aqua Ranger had battled his robotic opponent into the wreckage of one of Automica's starships, keeping the bishop's weapons at bay with his twin Power Sai. As they reached the ship's bridge, the Aqua Ranger caught one of the blades and struck it away, before stepping around a low jab and slashing both sai for the robot's torso. The bishop blocked the weapons in a shower of sparks and retaliated with a wide horizontal slice. But the Aqua Ranger leaped to safety, bouncing off a control panel and kicking the bishop back into a wall. Before the robot could recover, the Aqua Ranger launched his two sai and pinned his enemy's arms to the hull. With the bishop trapped, he grinned beneath his helmet and took to the air, slamming his boot into the robot's face and sending its head flying.

Outside, the Yellow Ranger leaped towards her opponent with a jump kick, but the bishop stepped around the move and followed after her when she landed. As twin blades extended from the robot's wrists, the Yellow Ranger raised her Power Daggers and ran her gaze over the bishop's body.

"Ankles, knees, wrists, body," she said softly, and nodded to herself. "Got it."

The robot charged towards her, swinging its blades in a wide arc. But the Yellow Ranger dropped low, dodging the move and shattering the robot's right ankle with a dagger as it passed. The bishop awkwardly spun to face her when she dived forward, destroying the robot's left ankle with one dagger before disabling the its left knee with the other. Trapped on the spot, the robot could only slash its blades ineffectively, but the Yellow Ranger aimed for its wrists and shattered both blades. Spinning around, the Yellow Ranger launched the weapons for the robot's chest and head, the daggers taking the robot to the ground in sparking ruin.

Over by the empty lab, the Black Ranger had spun the barrel of his Power Axe around and aimed it for his opponent, when he realised his bishop was shaped differently to the others. He soon saw he'd guessed right, when the bishop's chest unfolded into a huge cannon that immediately began firing. He leaped to safety as massive fireballs slammed into the ground behind him, rolling to his feet behind a large boulder. With an almighty kick, he sent the boulder flying towards the bishop. The robot quickly fired, and the boulder exploded in a cloud of dust and smoke. But the Black Ranger charged through the dust cloud, rapidly closing the distance between them. The bishop launched a barrage of fireballs, but the Black Ranger struck them away with the flat of his blade before carving his axe in a powerful arc that sliced the bishop's body in two.

A few metres away, the male White Ranger leaped back as his robotic opponent swung low. When the bishop aimed high, the White Ranger blocked the blades with Saba, striking them away and slicing Saba for the robot's head. The bishop retreated out of danger, but while it was off-balance, the White Ranger took to the air with a spinning kick, slamming the robot off its feet. The bishop recovered faster than he expected, and as he turned to face it, he found the robot aiming its two arm cannons straight for him.

The White Ranger stayed kneeling. "It looks like you got me," he said, when Saba's blade sliced through the bishop's head before flying back to the White Ranger's hand. "Pity I wasn't fighting alone. Thanks Saba."

Over by a swarm of destroyed wasps, the girl White Ranger cracked her Power Whip around her as her robotic adversary kept its distance. Neither opponent broke the stand-off even as the battlefield erupted around them. Finally, the bishop broke into a run, charging across the sandy ground and unfolding its electrified arm blades. The White Ranger didn't move, waiting one more second before cracking the whip for the robot's head, shattering its optical sensors. The bishop skidded to a stop, and the White Ranger flicked the whip towards the robot's left arm, smashing its wrist before aiming for its right arm and snapping the blade clean off. Wrapping the whip around the robot's ankles, she spun the bishop into the air. With a final crack of the whip, she sliced its head from its body.

Nearby, the younger of the two Blue Rangers was trading blows with the final bishop using his Power Staff. Blocking one of the robot's blades, the Blue Ranger swung his staff for the bishop's head, but the robot struck the weapon away and aimed low. The Blue Ranger batted away the blow, and keeping the bishop's blades at bay, he swung a punch straight for the robot's chest shell, caving in the bishop's torso. The robot staggered back, and the Ranger's next blow shattered the robot's head. Damaged but still mobile, the bishop lurched towards him swinging wildly, but the Blue Ranger easily stepped around the move and swept the bishop's legs out from under it as it passed. While it was falling, he spun the staff around him and stabbed the end through the robot's chest, pinning it to the dirt as it broke apart in flames.

Across the battlefield, the Red and Orange Rangers raced towards the Insectoid. With an inhuman screech, the cyborg fired a storm of glowing energy stingers towards the heroes. Without slowing down, the Orange Ranger batted away the stingers with the flat of his blade, while the Red Ranger dived over the blasts, rolling to his feet and taking to the air. They reached the Insectoid together and slashed their blades towards him. In a flash of light, the Insectoid summoned a pair of wicked serrated blades, and he struck their swords away before retaliating. The Red Ranger blocked the blade and batted it away while the Orange Ranger ducked under the move. Side-by-side, they sliced their swords for the Insectoid, carving through his chest armour in a shower of sparks. The Insectoid staggered back, dazed, and the Orange Ranger spun around on the spot with a high kick, forcing the cyborg back even further. Before the Insectoid could recover, the Red Ranger took to the air. For half a second he hung suspended, before slamming his boots into the Insectoid's chest with all the force of a runaway freight train. The blow launched the Insectoid off his feet and sent him crashing to the ground forty feet away.

With his cybernetic wings torn and broken, the Insectoid looked around in alarm as all twelve Rangers closed in, the sparking and destroyed remains of Automica's bishops littering the desert behind them. The cyborg swore under his breath and reached for his wrist pad.

"We will meet again, fleshlingszzz!" he buzzed, and hit a blinking button on his wrist pad. In an instant, the Insectoid shot up into the atmosphere as an energy trail and vanished over the horizon a second later.

The Rangers turned to each other. "One down," said the male White Ranger.

"In all of that," began the younger Blue Ranger, "did anyone see what happened to General Skull?"

A loud roar filled the air. Everyone turned to see General Skull's flagship falling out of the sky, the giant grinning skull on a wide arc towards us and gaining speed with every second.

"Let's take him down!" shouted the Black Ranger. "Power Axe!"

"Power Bow!"

"Power Lance!"

"Power Daggers!"

"Power Sword!" finished the Red Ranger. Taking to the air, he came down holding the Megablaster.

His team-mates braced themselves against his shoulders, and he aimed the five-cannon weapon straight for the falling skullship and fired. Power exploded from the Megablaster and roared towards the skullship. In the bridge, General Skull had half a second of honest realisation before the blast slammed into his ship and the skullship exploded in a ball of flames. Dropping out of the sky, the fiery wreckage crashed into the dirt with earth-shaking force before slamming into a nearby cliff-face. The Red Ranger nodded to himself and lowered the Megablaster.

"Well that's two," said the Aqua Ranger.

"Hold on guys," called the Yellow Ranger. "We're not done yet!"

We turned to where the Yellow Ranger was pointing, and immediately recognised the shadowy figure approaching us, unbeaten, unscathed and more determined than ever to claim her destiny.

"Automica," I murmured.

 _To be continued._

* * *

 _Author's notes - Granted, it's another huge action chapter, but I thought the fight scene with each of the Rangers versus their respective bishops was really important, and it was something I couldn't skip. Until now, a lot of the fighting has been from Tim's perspective. This made the scenes distant or brief or quite frenzied (even last chapter, the Rangers were either in their zords, or fighting dozens of attackers all at once). What I really wanted, this chapter, was to showcase each of the individual Rangers. They all summon their personal weapons (I_ love _the concept of the Power Weapons, so I try to include them as often as I can), and we zoom in as everybody fights individually (each Ranger fighting using their own style. Billy uses his intelligence to analyse his opponent. Brendan uses his agility and smaller-size to his advantage. Trini uses her daggers for quick, efficient strikes. Tommy fights with Saba backing him up. Teresa uses her whip to keep her opponent at a distance. Ian and Kim use their ranged weapons. Sarah uses brute force, etc). It was really important that, right here at the end, we get to see just how_ dangerous _these heroes can be, in close combat. They're tired and wounded and exhausted, but that moment where Jason tells the team, "Bring 'em down!" isn't a scary moment, it's a, 'The Rangers are about to kick a hundred kinds of butt!' moment. My favourite moments, I think, were the one-liners from Billy and Kim :).  
_

 _I also don't have any plans for General Skull, after this story, so maybe that's what it takes to keep a zombie down. Next chapter ... you think we'd come all this way without a giant robot fight? See you then! :)  
_


	15. Chapter 15

_Author's notes -_ Whitebeard _, thanks for that :). The Skethani virus was created with a mixture of magic and super-science, so I really wanted the moment where we actually get to see the virus (in its awake and active state) to be a creepy moment. The virus was designed to be one of the most dangerous weapons in the Universe, it was meant to be unsettling. Plus, the Rangers just did the impossible and_ beat _it, so the virus is pretty angry._

 _Originally, this chapter started with a ground battle where the Rangers dogpile on Automica, but while I was plotting the story out, I realised that the last two chapters were non-stop fighting, so it really wouldn't be fair if I wrote_ another _big fight scene here. So yeah, there's no ground battle between the Rangers and Automica, I jumped straight past it. But it works better this way. And I just_ love _giant robots.  
_

 _And yes, I put seats in the Thunder Megazord. I love everything about the thunder zords, but I always thought it was hopelessly impractical that the Rangers on the show had to stand up in the cockpit of the Megazord. So yeah, I added them in for my series (heck, here, I add a_ sixth _one :))._

 _Enjoy the chapter! :)  
_

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen**

Taking slow mechanical steps, the high priestess Automica emerged from the cloud of dust, surveying the destruction on all sides as she advanced on the Rangers. Fixing her gaze on us, I saw her eyes burning bright with hatred. "How dare you?" she began. " _How dare you?!_ "

The Pink Ranger raised her hand. "Save it sister," she said. "Your army is gone, your ships are destroyed, and your allies turned and ran. In case you haven't figured it out yet? You're about to have the worst day of your life."

"You would dare defy me?" Automica ranted.

The male White Ranger stepped forward. "Careful Automica," he said. "I don't think you realise how human you are."

The priestess almost exploded. "Blasphemy!" she screamed, but her gaze was suddenly distant, staring past us to the lab. "There you are," she murmured.

"She's going for the virus!" shouted the Purple Ranger.

As one, the Rangers raised their weapons. But Automica held her arms wide, and panels along her body slid open to reveal an arsenal of rockets, primed to fire. "Nothing will stop me!" she screamed.

"Great," groaned the Aqua Ranger. "Upgrades."

"Down!" cried the Red Ranger. The Yellow Ranger grabbed me and threw me to the ground as Automica opened fire. By the time everybody had rolled to their feet, Automica had already closed the distance between herself and the abandoned lab.

"Stop her!" shouted the Orange Ranger.

His team-mates leaped after her, but the mad priestess tore the side off the building and threw it at the heroes, sending them crashing. With nothing left between her and the containment sphere, she stepped inside. Still contained within the orb, the virus turned to greet her, pressing itself against the transparent wall. Reaching the sphere, she rested her hand against it.

"Finally," she murmured, "my destiny!" And she punched her fist clean through the sphere.

"No!" I shouted, but it was too late. Now freed, the virus shot into Automica's arm as lightning flashed around her, blasting out the walls and bringing down the ceiling. Automica's triumphant laughter soon turned into inhuman screams. The metal on her arm began warping and reforming as the virus bonded with its new host. With the twisting metal travelling into her torso, her whole body started changing. Barely recognisable, Automica began growing, expanding in size before our eyes. As the Rangers and I looked on, her shoulders broke through the ceiling, destroying whatever was left of the lab.

"C'mon," shouted the Grey Ranger, pointing to the zords. "Let's move!"

But as I turned to run, I caught sight of it there on the ground where I'd left it. The bracelet Hephaestus had made for me, to keep the virus contained. Almost without thinking about it, I scooped up the bracelet, turned to where the priestess's body was remoulding itself and threw the bracelet towards her. At that distance I couldn't have missed, and the bracelet was absorbed into her leg as she continued to grow.

The Red Ranger reached me. "Hold on!" he shouted. I grabbed his arm, and he reached for his wrist with his free hand. We shot up into the sky as teleport streaks towards the Red Dragon thunder zord. A second later, we materialised in the cockpit, the Red Ranger appearing in the seat with me standing behind him. On all sides were blinking lights, switches and dials, the display even more impressive than the Phoenix cockpit. On the viewscreen before us, I saw the full fleet of zords assembling on the desert plain. Across the battlefield, Automica had reached her full-size, a fifteen-storey colossus of death and hate, pulsing with the power of the Skethani virus. Her face had changed, the added power giving her a crown of metal spikes, while claws and spiked gauntlets appeared on her arms and legs. In the cockpit of the Red Dragon, the Red Ranger glanced over his shoulder.

"Normally I have a seat for guests," he began, "but we're gonna have to do this fast. Hold on!" I gripped the back of his seat and held on for dear life as he reached for the radio. "Rangers, switch to Megazords, now!"

With a flash a lightning, the giant metal beasts began to transform. Across the plain, the orange Stegozord dropped back to its dinosaur mode then drew level with the blue Brontozord. Behind them, the aqua Dilophozord took to the air, and its legs folded up into its body before dropping down to combine with the other two, giving the Megazord legs and feet. The white Velociraptor split in half to provide the Megazord with arms, while the purple Rhamphorynchus wrapped around the Megazord's torso to form the chestplate. With the DinoMegazord fully assembled, the five Rangers teleported into the cockpit behind the zord's glowing yellow eyes, and the DinoMegazord was ready for battle.

Meanwhile, the Red Dragon warrior had taken to the air. Far below, the Unicorn and Griffin thunder zords had drew side-by-side and folded up together, while the Black Lion had broken apart to form the Thunder Megazord's chest and arms. As the Red Dragon combined with the three smaller zords, the Phoenix wrapped itself around the Megazord's stomach. With that, the Thunder Megazord had formed. There was another flash of light and I was suddenly standing inside a much larger room. Gazing around in wonder, I realised the Red Ranger and I had been teleported into the Megazord's cockpit in the chest. On either side of me, the Pink and Yellow Rangers were seated at their consoles, while in front of us were the Blue, Red and Black Rangers.

"Thunder Megazord, online!" the five Rangers called.

"Megazord cockpit," began the Yellow Ranger, "a seat for our guest."

A panel on the wall behind me slid open, and a seat swung out and locked into place. I immediately sat down and buckled myself in. From the viewscreen in front of us, we could see kilometres in every direction. Glaring at us from across the battlefield was the deranged priestess Automica, while facing her down beside us was the DinoMegazord. On our other side was the White Tigerzord, its giant golden sword held high, while standing beside the DinoMegazord was the shining silver Iguanodon.

You often hear people talk about how tiny we are in the face of overwhelming natural forces. Things like hurricanes, earthquakes or Godzilla. They say you can't fight or control those things. You just have to get out of their way and hope for the best. But I bet none of those people had ever sat inside a Megazord. Because sitting there inside that colossal machine that had gone toe-to-toe with demons, aliens and gods, alongside some of the greatest heroes in the world, I suddenly felt like we _could_ fight those natural forces.

And not only that.

We could win.

"Accept your fate Rangers!" bellowed Automica. "You cannot triumph, not when I have the Skethani virus coursing through me! I am invincible!"

"Boy it's gonna be fun proving her wrong," crackled the male White Ranger's voice through the intercom.

"Can we do this though?" asked the Grey Ranger's voice from somewhere inside the Iguanodon. "After everything we've been through today?"

"We don't have a choice," said the Orange Ranger. "This is our best chance to stop Automica and destroy the Skethani virus for good."

"Agreed," said the Red Ranger. "Blue, talk to me. What do we have?"

Beside him, the Blue Ranger glanced between two monitors. "We're scanning Automica now," he replied. "The virus seems to be safely contained within her. It's making no attempt to leave, although I can't imagine what's stopping it."

"The bracelet!" I shouted. The Rangers turned back to me. "When she was growing, I saw the bracelet that Hephaestus had given me lying on the ground, so I threw it into her. I figured, if it kept the virus in me..."

"...it'd keep the virus trapped in Automica!" the Pink Ranger finished.

"It's doing more than that," said the Blue Ranger. "According to the scan, the virus has bonded to her on the atomic level. It's changed her entire molecular structure! From all the readings here, they've merged into a single being."

"Good," said the Red Ranger.

"That's a good thing?" I asked.

"Yep," the Red Ranger replied, and glanced over his shoulder. "You're hoping to be a doctor, right? What's the one thing most effective against a virus?"

I smiled. "Heat," I replied.

The Black Ranger flashed me a thumbs up. "You said it!"

"All right Rangers," said the Red Ranger. "You heard the man. _Let's_ _light 'em up!_ "

The White Tigerzord held its arms wide and sent a barrage of fireballs whistling towards Automica, joined seconds later by the Iguanodon as it fired a broadside of missiles and rockets. Already littered with wreckage, the desert plain erupted in sparks and smoke, the force of the blast driving Automica back. But facing down the onslaught, Automica recovered from the blasts and held her arms high. Power scorched across the battlefield in a storm of lightning and slammed into the two zords, throwing them to the ground. Without waiting, the Rangers around me pushed the Thunder Megazord forward to take up the fight. The field shook as we approached, but Automica's eyes flashed red and the front of the zord lit up. The Megazord powered through the blast and swung a punch straight for Automica's head. The priestess blocked the blow with a metallic clang, striking the Megazord's fist away before grabbing the Megazord's shoulders and unleashing a powerful surge of electricity. In the cockpit, sparks exploded around us, and I raised my hands to protect myself as the Megazord crashed backwards.

"She's too powerful," warned the Yellow Ranger.

The Blue Ranger nodded. "We can't afford another blow of that magnitude," he said.

The radio crackled to life. "Hang back guys," came the Orange Ranger's voice. "Let us try!"

The DinoMegazord charged past us, immediately swinging high. Automica ducked the move, stepping around another blow before striking away a third. Before the Rangers could attack again, Automica raked her claws down the Megazord's chestplate, carving through the zord's armour in a shower of sparks. The Megazord remained standing and swung again, landing a glancing blow to Automica's shoulder before its eyes flashed and a barrage of missiles roared forth. Automica raised her hands and the weapons froze in midair, before slamming her fists together and sending them smashing back into the Megazord. Hearing the ground shake, Automica spun to face the Iguanodon as it slashed its thumb claws straight for her. She stepped inside the blow and struck the zord's arms away before landing a powerful blow to the Iguanodon's head. Before the Grey Ranger could recover, Automica raised her hands and blasted the zord back.

The mad priestess closed in on the damaged Iguanodon when the White Tigerzord charged forward, slicing its sword for Automica's torso. Automica couldn't avoid the blow and staggered back in a cloud of smoke. Pressing forward, the Tigerzord slashed again, but Automica caught the blade and struck it away before aiming low. The Tigerzord batted away a low kick and caught Automica with a powerful backhand, rocking the priestess. Enraged, Automica faced her opponent with her arms raised as power crackled between them. Everyone watching gasped, when the Iguanodon swung around and smashed its tail into Automica's head. Automica staggered back, dazed from the blow. Before she could retaliate, the White Ranger pushed the Tigerzord forward, sending her stumbling with a powerful punch. Losing her focus, Automica screamed in frustration, when the Iguanodon joined the Tigerzord and both zords swung high. Automica barely avoided the move, and the Iguanodon slammed the priestess away with a powerful kick.

"Good job," called the Red Ranger.

"We've got her number," the Grey Ranger replied. "She's got all this power but she hasn't figured out how to use it. She's not focusing. If we can overwhelm her..."

"Then she won't know what to do!" finished the Aqua Ranger in the DinoMegazord. "Dude, you rock!"

"Then let's finish this," said the Orange Ranger.

The two Megazords powered back towards their opponent. Automica raised her hands but the zords struck them away and landed two side-by-side blows to the chest. Stumbling backwards, Automica lashed out for the DinoMegazord, but the Megazord stepped around the move and forced her back with a high punch. Before she could recover, the Rangers around me pushed the Thunder Megazord forward, and the Megazord batted away a low kick and struck high. Attacking together, the two Megazords punched high then swung low, driving Automica back with every powerful blow. She blocked the Thunder Megazord's fist but the DinoMegazord aimed low, rocking the high priestess with a punch to the stomach. She caught the DinoMegazord's hand when it swung again but the Thunder Megazord attacked high, catching her while she was off-balance. In desperation, she summoned a powerful energy blast, but the Megazords wheeled around on the spot with side-by-side punches that launched the priestess off her feet.

Automica rolled to a stop in a cloud of dust. "You cannot defeat me!" she screamed. "The Skethani virus will not be denied!"

"You talk too much," came the Orange Ranger's voice. "We call upon the power of Titanus, now!"

Like the zords already assembled, the giant carrierzord Titanus heard the call from across half the galaxy and exploded onto the scene in a blaze of power, punching clean through a row of hills on the horizon as it rolled towards us. Automica turned to face the giant brachiosaur as Titanus came to a stop, its tail splitting in two and sliding forward to form two massive cannons.

"Titanus, fire!" shouted the Red Ranger.

Titanus roared in response and fired two giant blasts that smashed into Automica in a blaze of fire.

Safely inside their zords, the six Junior Rangers raised their voices in unison. "Ultrazord, power up!"

In a flash of light, the Iguanodon took to the air and broke in half, dropping down over the DinoMegazord to form silver body armour. A second later, the combined mass of zords descended into the back of Titanus to form the mighty Ultrazord. On one side, the White Tigerzord stepped up to join them, while on the other side, the Thunder Megazord raised its sabre as lightning struck down from a suddenly cloudy sky to charge the sword with power.

"Stand down Automica," said the Black Ranger. "You can't win!"

But the priestess was too crazed to listen. "The Perfect System will not be defeated!" she shot back.

"Newsflash priestess," the Pink Ranger said. "Perfection is nowhere and everywhere, all at once, all the time. You just have to know how to see it."

"You leave us with no choice," said the Orange Ranger. "Lock on, and fire all weapons!"

"Thunder Megazord sabre, now!"

"Tigerzord blade!"

The Ultrazord opened fire, and a cataclysmic barrage exploded forth, scorching across the battlefield. At the same time, the Thunder Megazord and Tigerzord sliced their blades straight for Automica. Power exploded from the arcs, joining the Ultrazord blast and slamming into the priestess, tearing her apart in a massive explosion that shook the desert plain and sent a mushroom cloud roaring skyward.

In the cockpit of the Thunder Megazord, I saw the Rangers slump forward with sighs of relief, while over the radio, I could hear the other team in the Ultrazord cheering and celebrating the win. In front of me, the Black Ranger collapsed against his seat.

"And that's how we do it," he said softly.

I leaned forward. "You did it," I said. "I don't believe it. Automica and her army are destroyed, and the virus is gone forever." I shook my head. "You did it."

"No," said the Red Ranger, swivelling back to face me and dipping his helmet. " _We_ did it."

* * *

Back on the ground, the thirteen of us stood amidst the wreckage from the earlier battle, with the great shadows of the Ultrazord, the Thunder Megazord and the Tigerzord towering over us on all sides. I took a few seconds to drink in the sight of the fleet of giant robots, adding the combined might of all the zords to the list of the most incredible things I'd ever seen. After the last three days, it had become quite a long list. We all waited for the elder Blue Ranger to finish scanning the battlefield with his handheld device. Once he was satisfied with the results, he switched the device off.

"There's no trace whatsoever of the virus, not even a single atom," he said. "The Skethani virus is gone forever."

"I think we can definitely count that in the win column," said the Aqua Ranger.

"It wasn't our cleanest victory though," added the male White Ranger. "The Insectoid got away, and as for General Skull..."

"You got him though, right?" I asked. "I mean, you destroyed him pretty thoroughly. I saw you do it."

The Pink Ranger shook her head. "Given the whole zombie thing," she began, "General Skull is notoriously difficult to keep in the ground. We'll see him again."

The girl White Ranger turned to her team-mates. "Still, the virus is no more," she said, "and I think we're standing in all that's left of the Perfect System. More to the point, Tim's safe."

"Yeah, I don't know about the rest of you," agreed the Orange Ranger, "but I'd call that a good day."

I felt the weight of their gazes, and all of a sudden I didn't know how to respond. But luckily I didn't need to.

The Red Ranger chuckled under his helmet. "C'mon Rangers," he said. "The faster we finish up here, the sooner we can get Tim back to his family."

 _To be concluded._


	16. Chapter 16

_Author's notes -_ Jokermask _, I tell you, you'll never find a bigger fanboy for the Thunder Zords than me :). I write them into as many stories as I can, and it's why I have the Rangers using them for years and years. And yeah, the lack of seats always seemed hopelessly impractical for a giant walking battle machine. It was one of the first creative decisions I made :).  
_

 _So here we are at the final chapter of_ The Impossible Boy _. Thanks everybody for reading :). This was a marathon, but I hope you enjoyed it. When I began plotting out the story, I had a picture (in my head) that the finished story could be really epic and gigantic, and it was one of those things that turned out even_ better _than I thought it would. In terms of Tim, I have a habit of introducing these one-story guest-characters in my POV stories, and I end up really liking them. I think Tim is pretty awesome, actually, and I definitely think he'll meet the Rangers again in the future, on another wild adventure (I actually like the idea of Tim, his sister Sally and his best friend Alex getting mixed up with some supernatural/alien trouble and helping save the day). I've already got some ideas for that one._

 _While the dramatic climax of the story was definitely Automica and the virus being annihilated by the Ultrazord, I always felt that the_ emotional _climax of the story was in the final chapter here, in the second scene with Tim, Jason, Kim and Ian onboard the Phoenix zord. I'll let you read it and see why._

 _With that, into the final chapter..._

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen**

"So that was it," I finished, standing by the window in the doctor's consulting room. "That was the whole adventure, from beginning to end." I stepped across the room and sat down in the chair facing her. "I told everyone that the Rangers wanted to keep an eye on me for a few days after what happened at the museum, so I hung out in a guestroom in their base and watched TV for three days." I paused. "I think I lied because I wanted to keep their secrets safe, but I guess I also just wanted the adventure to be mine and nobody else's. Does that make any sense?"

"More than you think," the doctor replied. "But there's one thing I'm not clear on," and she flicked back through her notes. "What happened after the big battle on the desert planet? Did the Rangers teleport you back to Earth?"

I shook my head. "Once the zords all disassembled," I began, "most of the Rangers teleported away. I guess they were in a hurry to get home. But the Pink Ranger reminded me of something I'd said to her, so she and a couple of the Rangers flew me back in the Phoenix. It took a lot longer, but I'm glad they did."

* * *

I was dozing in one of the seats inside the cabin of the Phoenix when the Pink Ranger's voice reached me.

"We're home," she called, and I opened my eyes and gazed around the zord. "We've reached Earth."

Climbing out of my seat, I turned to the viewscreen. There it was, the planet Earth, hanging suspended in the vacuum of space before me, with the long starry arc of the Milky Way behind it. Mesmerised, I made my way over to the window. Setting the zord's autopilot, the Pink Ranger stepped out of the cockpit, and I was soon joined by the Grey, Red and Pink Rangers, standing there staring at the planet below.

I pointed to the Earth. "So is that...?" I began.

"The Middle East," the Red Ranger said, then pointed away to the horizon. "All of that is Russia. If you look closely through those clouds, you can just make out the Caspian Sea."

"Is it what you thought it would be?" the Pink Ranger asked softly.

"It's just so small," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I mean, that's politics and countries and religions and _everything_ , and I can't believe it's so small." I felt my eyes filling with tears. I was crying, and I didn't understand why. Unable to take my gaze away from the planet, I wiped my eyes.

"After all these years," the Grey Ranger whispered beside me, "I never get tired of that view. I don't think I ever will."

"Me either," said the Pink Ranger.

"I know I have to get home and see my family," I said. "But can we stay here a little bit? Just for a little while longer? Even with everything I've seen and done these last four days, for the rest of my life, I'm never gonna see anything like this ever again, am I?"

"Sure," the Pink Ranger said, and rested a hand on my shoulder. "Take as much time as you need. We're not going anywhere."

"You know, Tim?" the Red Ranger began, as we continued watching the world. "In another lifetime, you would've made a damn good Power Ranger."

I replied without looking. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," he said.

And there we stayed, watching the Earth turn.

* * *

"We appreciate all your help," said Tommy, shaking the hand of Chronopolis's Lord Chancellor on the front steps of the council building, with the Black and Purple Rangers standing beside him. "But you kept valuable information from us."

"Yeah," said Zac. "You cost us time and put a lot of people's lives in danger, including your own."

The Lord Chancellor lowered his eyes, unable to meet the gazes of the three Rangers. "I apologise Rangers," he said. "I'm very sorry."

"But why didn't you just tell us in the first place that Chronopolis was actually responsible for the virus?" Sarah asked.

"It should've been easy to tell you of the guilt and shame we've felt for a hundred years over the creation of the virus," the Lord Chancellor admitted. "It's just, the Power Rangers of Earth are so powerful and so well-renowned, I assumed you'd simply punish us. I felt I had no choice but to lie to you, in order to protect my people. I'm sorry for that."

Zac's face fell, while Tommy frowned behind his visor. It was a few minutes before any of the Rangers could reply.

"Well, that's, well," Tommy stuttered. "It all worked out in the end anyway. So there's that, at least."

"But you owe us," Zac said sternly. "The original scientist who created the virus? Dr Francesca Lorenzo? She was a hero who did the right thing. You need to clear her name and write your history the way it actually happened."

"Yeah," added Sarah. "If you gloss over your mistakes, you're doomed to keep making them."

"Those are fair requests," the Lord Chancellor said. "You have my word, they will be done." The Rangers nodded, satisfied, but as they turned to leave, he stepped towards them. "Just one more thing Rangers, before you go."

"Yes?" Tommy said.

"Out of sheer curiosity, I have to know," the man began. "How did you do it? How did you beat the virus?"

"We did what we said we'd do," Tommy replied. "We got the virus safely out of the host, and then we destroyed it."

The Lord Chancellor's brow fell. "That's all?" he asked. "But, no, you couldn't have been able to do that. That's not possible."

"We know," Sarah said. "That's what everybody else said. We didn't listen to them either. See you around chancellor." Although they were still unsettled by what the Lord Chancellor had said, the three Rangers stepped back, reached for their wrists, and shot up into the sky.

* * *

"I'd only meant to stay in orbit for a few minutes or so," I continued. "But I think I ended up being there for a good couple of hours, just watching the world turn. I couldn't take my eyes off it. I felt like I might miss something."

"And after that, you returned to Earth?"

"The Rangers must've sent word to their boss Zordon," I replied. "Or else they'd gotten a message to Eros. But we touched down on the lawn outside the museum, and my parents and Sal were there waiting. I don't remember a lot of what happened next, but I remember sprinting across the grass and wrapping my arms around them. I don't know how long we were there for, but I made sure I did what Hera asked, and told my mother how much I missed her. But then I did the same with Dad and Sally. Then there was this flash of light, and when I turned around, the Rangers were gone. After everything they'd done for me, all the deals they'd made and the battles they'd fought, I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. They just disappeared. I wish I'd had the chance to thank them for everything they did. I really wanted to."

"For whatever it's worth, I'm sure they understand," the doctor replied.

"It's just," I continued, "how do I go on now? How do I go back to normal? After everything I saw and did, how do I come down from that?"

The doctor didn't reply for a few minutes. When she did, it felt like she was choosing her words carefully. "You don't have to go back to the way you were," she said. "It's been my experience that life changes us every day. Sometimes for the worse, but a lot of the time, for the better. When I've had to come back to my life after something extraordinary, the only thing I can do, the only thing any of us can ever do, is be brave and go on living. You did the best you could with today, and tomorrow will be here soon enough. There's no shame in that. Just between the two of us, I think you're gonna be okay." I nodded, and she glanced down to her notes. "So after all that, I suppose you believe in the impossible now?"

I smiled. "I have to," I said. "But I don't think that's the point, is it? I think, after everything, I believe in _me_. Does that count?"

The doctor laughed. "You bet it does," she said, and brushed a thin strand of hair behind her ear. "And you're not worried about anything happening afterwards?"

"No, at least, not according to the Rangers," I replied. "And if you can't trust them, who can you trust? The robots were all destroyed, and apparently they can't tell the difference between ordinary people with no energy signals anyway. Once the virus left my system, I'm back to being invisible. The Insectoid never really saw me, and the Rangers said the Insectoid's swarms were all linked with some kind of hivemind. All they had to do was hack one of the downed ships and they'll keep no record of me. As for the zombies, well, they never saw me either. And the only one who did was turned to dust by the Orange Ranger."

"Well that's good," the doctor replied. She hesitated for a minute longer and then met my gaze. "I guess there's really only one question left to ask," she continued. I watched as she slid her notes into the yellow folder on her desk. Standing up, she stepped around to face me and leaned back against the bench-top. "For three days, you had the most incredible adventure," she began. "You were in the inner circle of the Power Rangers. That's somewhere not many people get to be. So my question is, what did it leave you with?"

"That's a good question," I said softly. I didn't reply for a long time. "You know, when people see the Power Rangers on TV, or read about them, or talk to their friends about them, they see this team of invincible heroes. Powerful, smart and brave. And I know that's all true, because I watched that happen right in front of me. But I don't think that's who they are to me."

The doctor smiled. "Who are they to you?" she asked.

"Just a bunch of kids," I said. "Kids my age who one day found themselves in the middle of something so much bigger and scarier than themselves. But they stuck by each other and did their best. They may be warriors and heroes, but to me? I'll always think of them as my friends." I paused. "And I don't think I can give them a higher compliment than that."

"Wow."

I was about to reply when I looked over to the clock. Seeing the time, my face fell. "Holy crap, we've been here this long?" I asked. "I totally lost track of time. My parents are gonna kill me."

"I'm sure they'll understand."

I stood up, about to turn for the door when I realised something. "I'm sorry, doctor," I began. "I never did get your name. I never thought to ask," and I held out my hand.

The doctor in the yellow blouse smiled as she shook my hand. "Kwan," she said. "Doctor Trini Kwan. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"You too Doctor Kwan," I said. "Thanks for listening. I think I really needed to get all that off my chest. What should I do if I need another appointment?"

"I'll leave a note for your regular GP," Dr Kwan replied, and walked me over to the door.

"So the prognosis?" I asked.

"You're human," she said. "Unfortunately it's terminal. But between the two of us? I think you'll be fine."

I laughed. "Thanks doc," I said. With a final smile, I stepped outside, leaving Dr Kwan alone. Locking the door, Trini stepped back around the desk. Just then, the door to the medical supplies cupboard swung open, and she looked up to see Jason, Peter and Scott step into the room.

"How'd he go?" Jason asked.

"He's clean," Trini replied, reaching for the two scanners hidden on the desk behind books and photo frames. "Neither of them picked up the tiniest hint of anything out of the ordinary," and Trini switched the devices off. "To the rest of the world, he's an unremarkable teenage boy."

"And he'll be safe," Jason nodded.

"Still," Trini said. "Let's set up a monitoring program in the Command Centre to keep an eye on the emergency services bands in this particular region, to respond to very specific words or phrases."

"That's probably not a bad idea," Peter said. "Just in case."

"As for the rest of it," Trini continued, and she turned to Jason. "He'll keep our secrets. He's a good kid."

"Told you," Jason smiled.

Peter glanced to the framed photos on the desk of Doctor Randall and her family. "So where _did_ we send the local doctor for the day?" he asked.

"Doctor Randall and her family were the lucky recipients of a free all-day pass to a local health spa a short distance along the coast," Trini replied. "I assume they're spending the day playing golf, getting massages and eating lobster, that sort of thing."

"From all accounts, Doctor Randall is a tireless local GP," Scott said. "Her family will probably be glad for the holiday."

"And in the wash-up?" Trini asked.

"Alpha says half the galaxy is talking about what happened on Nerimos," Scott said. "For the last week, the big story's been how Earth's Power Rangers fought a war to destroy the Skethani virus for good."

"Hopefully everyone was paying attention," Peter added. "We might just have a quiet few months for a change."

"And according to Zordon, Zeus and Hera have banned the twelve of us from stepping foot on Mount Olympus ever again," Jason continued. "Apparently half the city was destroyed in the battle against General Skull."

Scott frowned. "And you just know we'll get the blame for that," he said.

"Worth it though," Trini said.

Jason gazed out the window to where I was crossing the street with my parents, heading for a nearby bakery. "Definitely," he agreed.

"Still, we couldn't have managed without their help," Peter said. "Should we send the Olympians a fruit basket or a box of chocolates or something? Maybe a nice quiche?"

Scott and Jason laughed as they raised their wrists. "I'll see you back home," Trini said. "I need to sign out at the front desk. Our temporary local doctor routine worked well, but it means I have to leave by the front," and she stepped outside.

"Meanwhile," Jason grinned, turning to his best friend beside him, "someone else saw your face."

Peter sighed. "I'll, uh, I'll work on it," he said.

"Sure you will," Scott teased.

"At least Dale doesn't know!" Peter said hopefully. "I don't think."

Jason laughed, and the three of them reached for their communicators and vanished from the scene in three bright flashes of light.

 _The End._

* * *

 _Author's notes - at the very beginning of this story, back when it was just a cool idea drifting around in my head, I asked myself some questions ..._ Who are the Power Rangers? What are they about? ... _and the point of_ The Impossible Boy _was to answer them._

 _From the very first chapter, right through to chapter 16, every single action the Rangers take in this story is to_ keep Tim alive _._ _They make a mad scramble across the galaxy in little more than three days, they fight wild battles, they cut deals with an entire pantheon of gods, they even fight_ _a war, and all of it ... every bit of it, from start to finish ... is to keep that boy safe, to protect him and keep him alive for another minute, buying him every second they can._

 _And_ that _is who the Power Rangers are, and what they're about._

 _I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :). Until next time, friends...  
_


End file.
